I'd like to thank Wasim Bari for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk exclusively to PakPassion.Net about the selection of the squad to Sri Lanka.



PakPassion.Net You've been appointed interim Chief Selector, do you know how long this will last and would you take it on full time again?

Wasim Bari: At the moment I already have another job with the PCB and I've told them that they should look for a permanent selection committee to take over as soon as possible. I've done the job a couple of times before and I've done it for longer than anyone else. I'm not keen on taking it up again. As far as I know I'm only selecting the squad for Sri Lanka, so hopefully the new committee will be appointed before the next tour.


PakPassion.Net I've heard that the Pakistan Academy squad to South Africa will be selected next week, are you going to be selecting that squad too?

Wasim Bari: As you know this is Pakistan and you only know something for certain one or two days before the event. Right now I havent been told anything in reagards to my selecting the Paksitan Academy squad. What's being suggested at the moment is that we have a 4 member selection panel that selects squads for both the junior and senior teams, perhaps they will select that squad?


PakPassion.Net There was a lot of controversy around Qadir's departure, was it to do with the A team and if so which player was at the centre of the storm?

Wasim Bari: I don't think it had anything to do with the A team, I believe it was over a difference of opinion with the captain on selection issues. However you'd have to ask them exactly what the difference was.


PakPassion.Net You're an experienced selector so maybe you can shed some light on the Nasir Jamshed issue. Why does Nasir keep getting dropped despite performing every time he's selected? When he performed against Zimbabwe it was said that he couldnt play like that against better teams but when he got a chance against India he performed in that game too. So why the step-motherly treatment of Nasir?

Wasim Bari: Nasir has missed the last two tours he was selected for. He pulled a hamstring against Australia and was out with Malaria against the West Indies. He needs to work hard on his overall fitness but he's still young and there's a lot of cricket to be played in the coming months. Nasir is still in the reckoning and his chance will come again. I saw his innings against India and he looks like a very good batsman.


PakPassion.Net I know he was injured when the squad for the T20 World CUp was selected but I felt we missed his aggressive batting at the top of the order.

Wasim Bari: If I'd had anything to do with the selection of the T20 squad then I'd have picked Imran Nazir. The first 5 overs of a T20 game are crucuial and Imran is an explosive player who could give us a much needed boost at the start of the innings. Not to forget that he's a brilliant fielder and really lifts the team with his efforts.


PakPassion.Net What are Nazir's chances of being selected in the limited overs squad for this Sri Lanka tour?

Wasim Bari: He was cleared today (Tuesday 30th June) over the discipline issue in the RBS Cup. That means that he is now in contention for selection in the ODIs and T20s vs Sri Lanka.


PakPassion.Net One question that is on the lips of every clued-up Pakistani fan is about the role of Fawad Alam. At domestic level Fawad averages 57 in first class, 45 in one day games and 42 in T20 games. I don't know of any other batsman in the world who is so consistently excellent in all three versions of the game. But the Pakistani team make him bat down the order with tailenders for company. Why doesn't he bat in the top 5 or 6, so we can make the best use of his prolific form?

Wasim Bari: All we can do is select Fawad Alam in the squad. How he is utilised in games and where he features in the team gameplan is a decision for the coach and the captain to make. His batting position is their decision and it's easy for us to forget that they also have to accomodate Yousuf, Younis, Malik, Kamran, Afridi, Misbah and now Razzaq. Fawad's time will come, sooner or later he will get the opportunity to bat higher up in the order. He's a very popular guy, the best fielder in the team, a very good runner between the wickets and a thinking cricketer who plays proper cricket shots. The Pakistani middle order is very crowded at the moment but his chance will come.


PakPassion.Net You selected the squad for Sri Lanka so I'd like to ask you on what basis was Faisal Iqbal was selec...

Wasim Bari: (interrupts)...Faisal Iqbal scored two fifties in his last two innings including 57 in the test against Sri Lanka where he had a good partnership with Younis Khan who scored 300 runs.


PakPassion.Net But in his last 16 innings he's only scored 3 fifties which means that he failed 13 times and in his entire career of 38 innings he's only scored 1 century. An average of 26 over 38 innings from a specialist batsman isn't acceptable at test level.

Wasim Bari: Majid Khan took 14 tests to score his first century and his average at that point was probably quite similar too.


PakPassion.Net I understand what you're getting at but when players like Saeed Bin Nasir, Afaq Raheem and Azhar Ali dont get selected despite performing consistently at domestic level for many years, the fans want to know why Faisal Iqbal keeps getting selected in the national team despite not scoring consistently.

Wasim Bari: You can say that Faisal doesn't have a healthy average but then he hasn't regularly been given a chance in the national team.


PakPassion.Net I'd disagree with that. I think 38 innings is more than enough opportunity to prove yourself. If Saeed Bin Nasir had been given 38 innings then I'm sure he would've established himself in the national team by now, his domestic record shows that he has all the tools needed to succeed.

Wasim Bari: That's a matter of opinion. It also depends on who those runs were scored against. Most of the matches in our domestic cricket aren't of a very high standard, some are but on the whole the standard is quite poor. I'm not saying that Saeed isn't a good player. I've seen him bat and he is a very good player who's very consistent at domestic level.


PakPassion.Net For many years they said the same thing about Misbah Ul Haq and we missed out on his best years. Misbah has proven with the test series against India and in many other matches that he is an international standard batsman and not a domestic bully.

Wasim Bari: Well there's a difference between Misbah and Saeed.


PakPassion.Net We don't know that until Saeed gets a chance to play. No-one has ever selected Saeed for Pakistan and said you're one our best domestic batsmen so we're giving you a series or two to show us if you can do the same at international level. Without giving Saeed that opportunity I dont think we can dismiss him as the Pakistani Hick or a domestic bully.

Wasim Bari: Saeed is a middle order batsman and Pakistan have had Inzamam, Yousuf, Younis, Misbah, Malik, Afridi, Razzaq, etc batting in those positions in the recent past. Sometimes players are unlucky because there is too much competition for the position that they play in.


PakPassion.Net What's your opinion on players like Saeed Bin Nasir, Afaq Raheem and Azhar Ali. Will they be getting a chance at some point?

Wasim Bari: Out of the 3 that you just mentioned I would say that Saeed is the best batsman.


PakPassion.Net So will he be getting a chance soon?

Wasim Bari: Maybe. There's a lot of cricket ahead of us over the next few months. We're playing Sri Lanka, the Champions Trophy, New Zealand and Australia too.


PakPassion.Net Sohail Tanvir wasn't selected for the tour of Sri Lanka, what's the plan for him?

Wasim Bari: We don't want to lose him, he's been sent to the NCA to work on his overall fitness because we need him to be fully fit for the busy schedule ahead.


PakPassion.Net Have you heard of the 6'10 left arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan and did you see his 4 wicket haul against Pakistan A?

Wasim Bari: No I didn't see that game beacause I was in England at the time it was played. I've seen him around the academy, he's always working really hard and his height will be a great advantage to him as a bowler. Although I haven't seen him bowl, the steep bounce he will generate will make him a dangerous prospect for batsmen. Talking of left armers, Naved Arif looks like a great prospect.


PakPassion.Net Well funny you should mention Naved Arif because I wrote to Bob Woolmer in 2004 to suggest that he take a look at Naved Arif, Woolmer couldnt get any info on him back then. Is there any way we can ensure these players get on the radar and stay there? Arif told me he went to play league cricket in the UK because he couldnt get selected for first class cricket in the Pakistan.

Wasim Bari: This is a common problem in Pakistan, we lose too many exciting and talented players between u19 level and test match level. The PCB needs to launch some fresh initiatives and put new plans in place to ensure that this doesn't happen anymore.


PakPassion.Net I couldn't agree more. Take the fast bowling trio from the 2006 World Cup as a case in point. Whilst Anwar Ali is still floating around the domestic scene, it would seem that Akhtar Ayub and Jamshed Ahmed have disappeared from the cricket scene in Pakistan.

Wasim Bari: Anwar Ali plays regularly for Karachi but you're right, the other two needed to be developed but have been forgotten. This is what I mean, we have to retain more players from the youth level, some sort of monitoring system should be in place so that these youngsters dont keep dropping off the radar.


PakPassion.Net The hero of the 2004 u19 World Cup, Tariq Mahmood, told me that he can't perform and get noticed if he isn't selected by his region to play first class cricket.

Wasim Bari: We need to change the way our regions and divicisions are run. There's too many honourary positions and too little accountability. Some of them have been run by the same people for the last 30 or more years. All that needs to change for things to improve.


PakPassion.Net I know you said that you haven't been told if you'll be selecting the academy squad but do you know if Tariq Mahmood is in consideration for that tour? If he isn't will you invite him to the trials to see if he's still as good as he was in 2004? With our lack of depth in spinning talent we need to keep a close eye on players like Tariq.

Wasim Bari: I dont know if he's been invited to the academy trials but I'll keep his name in my shortlist.


PakPassion.Net Thank you for taking the time to talk to the fans at PakPassion.Net.

Wasim Bari: No problem, anytime.