SHARJAH, April 11: Captain Rashid Latif hailed the next generation of Pakistan stars following his side’s victory over Zimbabwe in the Sharjah Cup final on Thursday night.

The selectors gambled by leaving a number of established stars including Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram and Rashid’s predecessor Waqar Younis at home.

But the new-look team won all four games at the desert venue, including an eight-wicket triumph in the final.

Rashid described his side’s performance as “very encouraging”. He said: “When we came here, we were without superstars, but we are returning home with new stars, who will become superstars.

“Mohammad Sami, in particular, is shaping up as a world-class seamer. He gave us the vital breakthroughs early in the game, which effectively swung the match in our favour.”

The batting also looked good with six different players making half centuries during the competition, with two each from Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan.

“I am proud the way players performed over the last week. But now comes the hard part because they have to maintain this standard in the future.

“It’s no use winning one tournament and failing in the next. We have to be consistent,” coach Javed Miandad commented.

Pakistan now head to Sri Lanka, where they will take part in another triangular one-day series next month, also involving New Zealand.

That will be followed by a trip to England in June for the three-match NatWest Challenge.—PPI