February 16, 2007	Friday	Muharram 27, 1428

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KARACHI, Feb 15: Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and other batsmen’s return to top form would be the key to Pakistan success in the World Cup, chief selector Wasim Bari said on Thursday.

“Inzamam must lead from the front and his batting form and that of other experienced players will be crucial for the team’s good showing in the West Indies,” Bari emphasised in an interview here.

Inzamam managed to reach the aggregate of 74 runs in the five-match ODI series in South Africa with an ordinary average of 18.5 after having accumulated 198 in the three-Test rubber at 39.60 runs per innings there.

“There may be a difference of opinion on the selection of the team (for the World Cup) but it was picked with consensus,” Bari stated.

The selection committee picked the pace trio of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul with fitness problems hovering over their final selection.Bari added that great players like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Sarfraz Nawaz and others could differ on (the selection of) one or two players but not on the whole team.

He further expressed that the World Cup squad was finalised during his presence in South Africa after consultations with the team management comprising Bob Woolmer, Inzamam and his deputy Younis Khan.

Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Azhar Mahmood, Salman Butt and Zulqarnain Haider have been named as standbys for the World Cup in case of replacements, Bari, the former Test wicket-keeper, added.

“Like everyone I am also disappointed with the team’s showing in South Africa. But it was because of the injuries to Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul,” he remarked.

“Our batsmen failed to adjust on bouncy and swinging South African tracks but that is no excuse because they are professional cricketers and should adapt to the conditions accordingly,” he pointed out.

He said earlier in South Africa the Indian team went through similar problem, which was faced by Pakistan there later.

Bari expressed that opener Imran Farhat was dropped because as per the team analysis, he failed to rectify his mistakes. Between Imran Nazir and Yasir Hameed only one could be picked for the Caribbean extravaganza. “Hafeez was picked as a utility player because of his bowling.”

Responding to a question regarding his absence at the press conference where the squad was announced, Bari said his job was to submit the team to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), adding that for any query media personnel could approach him.

He said the PCB would be conducting doping tests of all the players internally for the World Cup soon after the team’s return from South Africa.

Commenting on the World Cup pitches in the Caribbean, he said nobody really knows about the newly laid pitches there, saying, “Even the West Indies captain Brian Lara is sceptical about the nature of tracks for the World Cup.”

Bari revealed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) curator Andy Atkinson supervised the laying of new pitches at different venues in the West Indies for the mega event, adding that general opinion about the World Cup pitches is that they are Sub-continent like, low and slow. —APP