Speaking to PakPassion.net, Chief Selector Mohsin Khan expressed his excitement and eager anticipation of the forthcoming Faysal Bank Twenty20 tournament, as well as his hope that a "young gem or two" would be unearthed as a by product.

By Saj Sadiq (17th June, 2011)

Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 competition (Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup) will get underway in Faisalabad on 24th June, with the final scheduled for 1st July.

The tournament sees the top 8 ranked Twenty20 teams in Pakistan split into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semi finals. All matches will be played under floodlights at the Iqbal stadium.

Speaking to PakPassion.net, Chief Selector Mohsin Khan expressed his excitement and eager anticipation of the forthcoming Twenty20 tournament, as well as his hope that a "young gem or two" would be unearthed as a by product.

"I'm really looking forward to the competition, as no doubt are the players and the other selectors. The competition will allow members of the selection committee and I, to look at the talent we have in Pakistan for this very popular format of the game."

"It's exciting going into a competition like the Faysal Bank T20, as you just never know which talent will be unearthed or indeed how many of these hidden gems will reveal themselves. I particularly look forward to seeing young players and how well they perform and what they are capable of."

Whilst the Pakistani players currently playing in County Cricket will not be taking part in the tournament, Khan refuses to believe that the tournament will be devalued by the "big names" being missing.

"Twenty20 cricket is huge in Pakistan as it is no doubt around the world. I'm sure it will be an attractive tournament and a good spectacle. Yes there will be some senior players missing, but that gives up and coming youngsters a great opportunity to impress everyone and show us what they can achieve in this format of the game. I always hope that at the end of a tournament such as this, if we can unearth 2 or 3 names that we feel are cricketers who can play for Pakistan in the near and long term future, then the tournament has been a success for Pakistan cricket. My aim from the first day that I took over as Chief Selector has been to have competition for places in every department. The plan has always been to have 2 or 3 players fighting for each spot in the team and I feel we are close to achieving that."

With the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka just over a year away, Mohsin Khan certainly seems to have a plan in mind for the makeup of the Pakistan team in the shortest version of cricket.

"I want 70-80% of the Twenty20 squad for next years World Cup to be made up of twenty over specialists. I've always been keen on having a "separate team" for the Twenty over format and that is something that we have been working upon and will continue to do so as the build up towards the World Cup carries on."

Khan however added that he wouldn't just be casting a watchful eye over players in the Faysal Bank tournament, but would also be monitoring the performance of Pakistani players in County cricket.

"The boys that are playing in the Friends Life Twenty20 competition in England are very lucky. They are playing in a competition with a high standard of cricket and my fellow selectors and I will be keeping a very close eye on their performances. It's good for Pakistan cricket that we have a number of our players playing County cricket this year."

Apart from the generally accepted criteria of good match performances, Mohsin, unlike many of his predecessors,  singled out fielding standards as a major factor in selection of future squads especially in the Twenty over format.

"The emphasis on fielding has never been greater. The players all know the importance of fielding standards and fitness levels. Those boys that are good in the field definitely have an advantage when it comes to selection."