KARACHI: Former Test cricketer and chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu on Wednesday backed young Pakistan brigade to form the nucleus of the team and to put up an impressive show in the upcoming series against Zimbabwe, England and possibly India.

In a statement to the media, Sallu said: “While we should not take the Zimbabweans lightly after they recently stunned the strong New Zealand side in a couple of games, I feel that our younger players definitely have the potential to lift the team in the limited over series.”

Sallu said talented newcomers like Mohammad Rizwan, Mukhtar Ahmed, Imran Khan, Imad Wasim, Nauman Anwar and others were making their mark quite rapidly in international cricket and could prove to be match-winners on their day. “I like the never-say-die approach of these young players who have lot of swagger about them,” said Sallu. “Not only are they batting responsibly, they have also lifted the fielding standards which is so good to see.”

Sallu added that he could see a fine combination developing in the team with the seniors adjusting well with the junior players. “Players like skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed and Junaid Khan are playing well in tandem with the newcomers which augurs well for Pakistan cricket. The combination worked superbly in Sri Lanka and I see no reason why it will not click in the series ahead.”

Speaking about the tough England series slated for October in the United Arab Emirates, Sallu said though Alistair Cook’s men had beaten the formidable Australians in the Ashes recently, they will not find it so easy against Pakistan. “Playing on home ground gives a lot of advantage to a team and England indeed played well to beat the Aussies in the Ashes. However, they showed quite a few chinks in their armour too in losing the two Test matches and I feel the English batsmen will find the wily Yasir Shah as a very difficult bowler to handle,” observed Sallu.

Commenting on Najam Sethi’s presser earlier in the day, Sallu said the India series as well as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) could be a huge boost for Pakistan cricket. “Pakistan has suffered a lot during all these years due to lack of international cricket and the PCB has obviously felt the heat. But I am confident that if the bilateral series with India happens later this year and the PSL also goes ahead, which now seems likely due to Sethi Sahab’s efforts, our cricket will receive an unprecedented boost.

“In PSL, our players will get the chance to play alongside the cream of international players which will improve their game tremendously,” he concluded.”—Agencies

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015

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