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In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Taufeeq discussed the issues behind Pakistan’s batting woes and also spoke in detail about his personal disappointment at not being awarded a central contract as well as his exclusion from the current Test squad

 

By Amir Husain (29th August, 2014)

 

The current state of Pakistan's Test batting line-up has become a reason for grave concern given the 2-0 loss in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka. The Pakistani opening pair of Khurram Manzoor and Ahmed Shehzad managed to cobble together just 71 runs in 4 innings which was seen as one of the main factors for Pakistan batting’s inability to provide any substantial resistance in this series.

In all fairness to the current Pakistan Test openers, Pakistan’s search to find the right batsmen for the all-important Number 1 and 2 batting positions has always has been fraught with disappointments. However, one name that has stood out with some distinction due to his solid technique and determination to succeed is that of Taufeeq Umar.

The 33 year old left-handed opening batsman has 7 centuries and 14 fifties in Test matches to his name and averages 38.72. As a specialist opening batsman, Taufeeq’s credentials are as solid as for any others selected for this important role in the batting lineup. He currently finds himself out of favour with the selectors and in an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Taufeeq discussed the issues behind Pakistan’s batting woes and also spoke in detail about his personal disappointment at not being awarded a central contract as well as his exclusion from the current Test squad

The demise of Pakistan in the ICC Test rankings from 3rd position to 6th may have been a shock to some but Taufeeq feels that this was bound to happen given Pakistan’s unfortunate inability to host international series in the country.

“The biggest reason why Pakistan is struggling so much in Test cricket is because of a lack of international cricket in Pakistan. Cricket in Pakistan and Pakistani cricketers are being damaged due to there being no international cricket in the country" stated Taufeeq.

Whilst the much vaunted Pakistan bowling attack under the expert guidance of newly appointed coach, Waqar Younis, failed to live up to expectations, it was also clear that Pakistan's batting was unable to cope with the pressure applied by the opposition. Apart from the first innings at Galle in the first Test when Pakistan crossed 450, the Pakistani batting had a disastrous outing in the Test series.

For Taufeeq, the reason for failure is simply down to the inability of Pakistan selectors to decide on the optimal blend of youth and experience within the team setup. In an obvious reference to his own situation, Taufeeq felt that the selectors were missing an important ingredient of match experience in the members of the Test squad.

“One of the other main reasons why Pakistan's Test team has not won any of it's last six series is that the selectors tend to remove and forget about experienced players at the wrong time. Experience in international cricket is a valuable and irreplaceable asset and cannot be ignored. You cannot replace experienced cricketers overnight. This oversight from the selectors needs addressing and it needs to be done immediately or we will continue our poor run in Test cricket" added Taufeeq.

With Pakistan players unable to put up decent scores on a consistent basis, the question of their temperament is one that is discussed often, but in Taufeeq’s view is once again down to the experience of players which he feels, will only come with time and exposure. This is something which the selectors will need to keep in focus when they select teams in the future.

“Consistency comes with experience and performance comes with experience. If you drop experienced players for no reason then your cricket will suffer. These poor decisions damage cricket and these poor decisions need to be removed from Pakistan cricket. There is a lot of experience amongst the selectors and management now and they need to look to eradicate these poor decisions and the poor handling of some players. I'm hopeful that with the recent changes in team management these matters will be looked into and sorted out.“

Turning to his own situation, where he has not been able to find a place in the Pakistan team after an injury before the series in South Africa in 2013, Taufeeq expressed his disappointment in the manner he has been discarded by the selectors and sought to remind the selectors about his record of being able to play the best fast bowlers under tough conditions and stated "I was selected for the last tour of South Africa but suffered a stress fracture in my leg. Now that is something that happens in professional sport. You simply cannot account for injuries. I came back to Pakistan from South Africa due to that injury and since then I've been totally ignored for selection which is mystifying. Nobody has explained to me why I've not been picked since that injury on the tour of South Africa. I was the leading run-scorer in Test cricket for Pakistan in 2011 with over 850 runs that year. In 2010 I made three half centuries out of six Tests. I could understand being dropped if I had not performed but to be totally discarded and forgotten about due to an injury really hurts.”

“A lot of our batsmen struggle outside of Pakistan particularly in South Africa, Australia and England and that can be attributed to poor technique. Those teams do their homework, their bowlers and coaches work out your batting very quickly and as a batsmen you need to counter that by assessing where your scoring areas are and what shots you should avoid playing. I played against one of the best bowling attacks in South Africa when they had the likes of Alan Donald in their team and I did quite well against them because I played their quicks well and enjoyed the challenge, but more importantly I made sure that I played to my strengths.”

It is no secret that Pakistan's Test batting is currently under crisis and facing a lot of criticism but Taufeeq felt that a lot of the blame can be consigned at the doorsteps of the administration for their inconsistent policies. He made reference to the invitation to attend the recent training camp and questioned the rationale behind this move by the administration, given that they had no real intention of including him in their future plans.

"I was invited to a training camp earlier in the year with around forty other players. I've played 43 Test matches so the selectors, management and those at the camp know what I am about and what I am capable of. However even after attending the camp I was ignored for a central contract and for selection, that's difficult to accept. If they wanted to mistreat me like that then why invite me to the camp? I could understand them calling up a youngster to the camp to see what he was like but to invite a player whose played 65 times for Pakistan and then to treat him like the way they did doesn't make sense at all. The people who are treating me like this have played cricket at the highest level and should know better than to mistreat someone, as they would not like it if they had been treated this way during their careers."

With Pakistan scheduled to play two more Test series this year against Australia and New Zealand, Taufeeq is willing to put the past behind him and concentrate on the future and wishes to impress the selectors with performances in the domestic season with the hope that they will reconsider their approach and opt for reinforcing the Pakistan batting order with a tried-and-tested batsman like Taufeeq.

“I'm ready for a very important domestic season for me. I'm 33 years old and Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq have both proved that age isn't a barrier to success in international cricket. I'm fit, hungry for runs, want to have a successful domestic season. I am determined to reclaim a spot at the top of the order in Pakistan's Test team.”

 

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