Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.Net, former Test cricketer and chief selector, Iqbal Qasim criticised the selection committee for adopting a “futile” youth policy in team selection.

Although the selectors have picked three uncapped players – Yasir Shah, Rameez Raja and Aizaz Cheema for the tour of Zimbabwe, the exclusion of Hammad Azam, Usman Salahuddin and Sadaf Hussain has raised many eyebrows. Azam and Salahuddin were given limited opportunities on the Caribbean tour while Hussain has had no opportunity at all to play for Pakistan as yet.

“If a youngster does well in the domestic circuit, he is rewarded with a spot in the Pakistan squad for a tour only for sightseeing” stated a rather displeased Iqbal Qasim.

He added “Hammad [Azam], Khalid [Latif], Khurram [Manzoor], Sarfraz [Ahmed], Mohammad Salman and numerous other youngsters have featured in merely a handful of matches in the last eight months or so and have disappeared from the international scene thereafter.”

Being a keen follower and a seasoned observer of Pakistan cricket, Iqbal Qasim is a worried man. He fears that such an “irrational” selection policy will lead Pakistan cricket to a “disaster”. “They [the selectors] are judging the credentials of young players on a one-tour basis” he said.

Iqbal Qasim who had relinquished the post of Chief Selector in January 2010 following Pakistan team’s abysmal performance on the Australian tour stated “Inconsistency in the selection of players, particularly the bowlers will prove detrimental to us.”

Pakistan’s bowling line-up for the Zimbabwe has a fairly new look to it. Fast bowler Sohail Khan and allrounder Sohail Tanvir have earned recalls while Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz have been rested.

The former left-arm spinner expressed his dissatisfaction over the selection of an “inexperienced” bowling line-up. He said the only experienced bowler in the team is Saeed Ajmal and added “Sohail Tanvir is present, but he has his own fitness issues to deal with. Moreover, his current bowling form is not extraordinary and hence, we cannot say for sure that he will be able to carry the burden of the entire bowling attack” he remarked.

Iqbal Qasim was not too convinced with the selection of fast bowler Aizaz Cheema who was earlier picked for the ODI and T20I series’ against the West Indies but missed the tour due to an injury. “He has been selected once again even though he hasn’t played many matches after the injury” he said.

“In my opinion, Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz have not reached the point where ‘resting’ them is essential. In fact, these guys need to play as many matches as they can – they need to master their line and length. Playing more is only going to help them” he added. “If they really had to do it, they should have rested one of them, not both.”

Qasim further added “There’s no point in giving Tanveer a rest, too. Considering his age, we should utilise him to the maximum – take advantage while we can!”

Iqbal Qasim was also left bemused by the exclusion of left arm pacer Wahab Riaz. “Wahab has just stepped into the Test arena. He has merely bagged 19 odd wickets – I don’t see why he needs a rest!”

“They [the selectors] should have made it clear that he has been dropped because they were not satisfied with his performance if that’s the case” he continued.

“To me, it seems as though they’re trying to send across a message that ‘even you can be dropped if you don’t perform’.”

The selection committee has chosen not to experiment with the batting line-up for the Zimbabwe tour as they have persisted with the senior and experienced batsmen like Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat who has been recalled yet again. The 24 year old Rameez Raja who top scored at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2010/11 as well as the recent Faysal Bank Super Eights T20 tournament is the only new face in the batting line-up.

“When you’re willing to select a bowling attack full of young and inexperienced players, why don’t you replace one or two senior batsmen with a newcomer, too?”

Responding to a question regarding Imran Farhat’s latest recall, Qasim said “If any of the senior batsmen are not getting dropped, then there’s little wrong with Imran Farhat’s selection as well. He had performed well in the domestic one day competition anyway.”

The position of a wicket keeper is vital to the performance of a cricket team as a whole. Wicket keeping has been the subject of intense debate in Pakistan in the recent past and the exercise to pick a competent wicket keeper has become a dilemma for the selectors. Sarfraz Ahmed was seen as the ultimate replacement for Kamran Akmal, however, it has been eighteen months since his last international appearance for Pakistan.

Commenting on the subject, Qasim stated “Sarfraz is being ignored since quite a long time. He was dropped and replaced by Zulqarnain at first. When Zulqarnain fled, Adnan came in. When Adnan performed well, he was dumped in favour of Salman. Now they’ve brought back Adnan saying that he has performed well in the past!”

“If he [Adnan Akmal] had performed well, why was he dropped in the first place?” he questioned the selectors.

“This merry-go-round will continue unless a consistent policy is implemented” Qasim concluded.