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KARACHI: Former chief selector Iqbal Qasim on Friday criticised the selection committee for a lack of consistency in picking the 16-member squad — particularly the bowling department — for the national squad’s tour to Zimbabwe.
“The selectors have chosen a weak and inexperienced bowling attack which could be a cause of concern for the visitors [on the Zimbabwe tour],” Iqbal said in an interview.
“Major overhauling has been done in the bowling department with experienced Umar Gul and rising star Wahab Riaz along with spinner Abdul Rehman getting rest,” he noted.
“Pakistan’s bowling looks pretty green in Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Aizaz Cheema and leg-spinner Yasir Shah,” he stressed, singling out off-spinner Saeed Ajmal as the only experienced bowler in the squad.
“You cannot get the opponents out twice in a Test match and same may be the case in ODIs,” Iqbal emphasised. “It’s okay in Twenty20 Internationals but difficult in Tests and ODIs.”
He hit out at the selectors for recalling Adnan Akmal and ousting Mohammad Salman, who toured the West Indies besides featuring in a couple of ODIs against Ireland.
“That is surprising for me. Once Sarfraz Ahmed was part of the team, then came Adnan Akmal before he was dumped in favour of Salman and things have now been reversed,” Iqbal, who took 171 wickets in 50 Tests for Pakistan, pointed out.
On paper, Iqbal reckoned, Pakistan’s batting looked formidable with Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali along with young guns like Umar Akmal and newcomer Rameez Raja in the Zimbabwe-bound team.
“Bowling will be a major problem, and it will be a big challenge on the Zimbabwe tour,” he remarked.
“I don’t know the criteria under which Aizaz was chosen, who neither played any cricket nor showed physical fitness. Maybe selectors have got his fitness test,” he guessed.—APP
