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| February 22, 2007 | Thursday | Safar 4, 1428 |
Imran, Kamran wrong selections for World Cup, says Mushtaq
KARACHI, Feb 21: Former Pakistan skipper Mushtaq Mohammad has questioned the judgement of selectors over the decision to name opener Imran Nazir and wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal in the squad for the forthcoming World Cup in the West Indies.
Writing his column for a well-known cricket website, Mushtaq said: “The selection of Imran Nazir as one of the openers is wrong and Kamran Akmal shouldn’t be there if form means anything. And to include three seamers who are all injured at the moment is a massive risk.”
“If we start with the case of Imran Nazir, there is no doubt that he is a talented stroke player but batting him at the top of the order is a gamble because he lacks discipline and his shot selection is poor. I would have Shoaib Malik opening and any one of Mohammed Hafeez or Salman Butt, who has been treated unfairly. He scored a couple of good centuries but has been ignored for some reason.”
Addressing chief selector Wasim Bari over the selection of Kamran Akmal, Mushtaq said: “I would like to ask my old teammate Wasim Bari, who is now the chairman of selectors, that if he kept and batted as poorly as Akmal has done on the last three tours, would he expect to still be in the team? I am pretty sure the answer would be ‘no’.”
“Akmal has been riding his luck for the last two or three tours. If Wasim Bari would have kept for me like Kamran Akmal has for Inzamam, I would have dropped him a long time ago.”
Commenting on the selection of the three injured seamers, the former spinning-allrounder said: “Regarding the fast bowlers, I can understand the selectors taking a chance because Asif has been their best bowler, while Umar Gul is much improved. Shoaib Akhtar can be a match winner also so I can understand them taking a calculated risk on them.”
“But I just think picking three injury doubts as your first choice seam attack is too much. That surprised me. If Shoaib does make the World Cup after his recent troubles with his knee, I’ve got my doubts about him lasting the tournament.”
Mushtaq also lauded the selection of hardworking leg-spinner Danish Kaneria for the mega event in March. “Danish Kaneria was a positive choice. He’s a poor fielder but he is a wicket-taking bowler who is fully committed to Pakistan cricket. He gives the captain all he has and you can’t ask any more. The lack of a good one-day spinner gives him a chance to establish himself in one-day cricket. “
Looking at the bigger picture, he says: “Apart from Australia, I can see Sri Lanka doing well. We all know about Murali and Vaas, while Kumar Sangakkara is a class act. Sri Lanka are also the best fielding side amongst the South Asian teams. They are much more agile and alert. They are my outside tip apart from the obvious one of Australia.”—Agencies
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