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LAHORE: Chief selector Mohammad Ilyas claimed on Saturday that the current Pakistan team has the ability to defeat world No. 1 England in the upcoming Test series, starting from Jan 17 in the UAE.
In an exclusive interview to Dawn, Ilyas said: “Pakistan can defeat England even though they are the top side in the world.”
He said Pakistan team had the advantage of the UAE conditions, since it has become second home for Pakistan players.
“But the team which will bowl first will take a little more advantage in the UAE,” the chief selector claimed.
Answering a question, he said the selectors had reposed confidence in Umar Akmal as they needed an aggressive batsman in the middle order.
“Umar has been inducted into the team because he with his natural aggressive hitting could bring the rivals under pressure,” he maintained.
When asked that a defensive batsman wouldn’t have been a better choice in UAE conditions as he could defy the pressure by staying on the wicket, Ilyas contended that Umar, with his aggression, could force the rivals to open the field, which would in turn help Pakistan come out of pressure.
Asked if selectors did not feel any need for a right-arm leg-spinner like Danish Kaneria, Ilyas said that he was not in a position to make any comment on Kaneria’s availability, since the PCB had to clear him.
However, the chief selector disclosed that selectors had their eyes on upcoming Yasir Ali, who had done a good job in the three-day warm-up match against England by finishing with eight wickets.
Asked he was criticised when the previous PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, had elevated him as acting chief selector in place of Mohsin Khan, Ilyas disclosed that he was not an acting but a regular chief selector.
“Yes, I was criticised, but so far the performance of the national team is enough to defend my selection committee,” he said, adding that the same critics have also made hue and cry when the PCB appointed Misbah-ul-Haq as captain, but later the captain with his performance proved them wrong.
Ilyas said that after three Pakistani players were caught in the spot-fixing scandal during the last England series, many in the cricketing circles were of the firm view that Pakistan would not be able to replace the ousted players.
But they were wrong, since the selectors had their eyes on domestic cricket, as a result of which they picked several talented players to fill the gap, he added.
When asked whether he could justify selection of opener Imran Farhat, who is also his son-in-law, Ilyas said he was selected after he performed well in domestic cricket.
“I will be the first man to take Imran’s name off the list if he does not perform and I have done so in the past by removing his name when the committee was selecting teams for the last ICC World Cup and World T20,” he said.
When asked to comment how much role Dav Whatmore would have in selection, he said, “It is premature to comment on the issue since Whatmore has not been selected yet to replace Mohsin Khan.”
It is also pertinent to mention that Whatmore is in Lahore for interview in connection with the head coach job.
Ilyas claimed that his selection committee was independent as PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had given selectors a free hand, claiming that all the players included in the team were picked on merit.
He said the under-19 team was also doing well in South Africa in the three-nation tournament, since they had defeated both Zimbabwe and the host team.
He hoped a strong team would be raised for the upcoming junior World Cup.
