As ever, squad selection by the Pakistani selectors raised intense debate amongst Pakistani cricket lovers following the announcement of the squads for the tour of Zimbabwe. Should Imran Farhat have been picked, should Mohammad Irfan have been rested from the Test squad, should Nasir Jamshed have been given more chances in the 5 day format?

In his latest blog for PakPassion.net former Pakistan captain turned media pundit Aamir Sohail provides his thoughts on the squads recently announced for the upcoming series in Zimbabwe, speaks about the progress and lack of progress of some of Pakistan's cricketer, as well as his opinions on DRS.

by Aamir Sohail (10th August, 2013)

A Missed Opportunity

I feel the selectors have missed an excellent opportunity to give some youngsters a chance in international cricket. During the tour of Zimbabwe and with all due respect to the opposition, the chance was there to throw in some youngsters and to see how they fared in international cricket. Instead we see a number of familiar faces picked yet again, players who in my opinion aren’t up to the mark.


Shocked at Taufeeq Umar’s Omission

The decision to drop Taufeeq (Umar) is a shocker. In Pakistan’s Test squad at the moment there are 10 or 11 players who I feel are automatic choices and Taufeeq is one of them and to see him omitted is confusing. The problem is that when the selectors are pressurised they make adjustments to the squad regarding individuals instead of planning ahead.

There is also the element of continuity and stability. Taufeeq and Mohammad Hafeez had forged a good partnership and understanding at the top of the order and now that has been ended. Taufeeq’s record in the region is also very good and that just adds to the confusion regarding his omission. I’m puzzled and shocked at the decision and it really doesn’t make any sense.


Nasir Jamshed still has a future in Test cricket

Nasir’s impressed me since he made his comeback into the Pakistan side. He’s batted well in the shorter formats and I think he has the makings of being a regular in the Test side also. The reason why I believe Nasir can become an integral member of the Pakistan Test side is that he is one of the few Pakistani batsmen who can cut and pull the ball well.

He has the ability to deal with short pitched bowling and over the years we’ve seen a lot of Pakistani batsmen perform well in the shorter formats but struggle in Test cricket mainly because they had no idea of how to handle short pitched bowling.

By dropping a young cricketer after 2 Test matches that were played in unfamiliar conditions will not help anybody, particularly the young man himself. It will shatter his confidence in the long run and these are exactly the sort of short term decisions that the selectors should be avoiding.


Wahab Riaz’s Lack of Improvement

Wahab’s been selected for the Test squad but on what basis? Has there been any degree of improvement.......not in my opinion. He’s been dropped from the one day and twenty20 squads and it seems that as a softener from the selection committee he’s been included in the Test squads. Have his performances in domestic cricket been monitored for his inclusion in the Test squad.....I don’t think they have. I’ve seen Wahab bowling in domestic cricket and it wasn’t a pretty sight. It’s very rarely that Wahab performs well in domestic cricket so I’m puzzled regarding his selection in the Test squad.


Average Players Looking Good due to a lack of Quality

Pakistan’s domestic circuit is making our cricketers look better than what they actually are. The current format is producing a number of cricketers who sadly aren’t of an international standard yet are picked. These players score heaps of runs in domestic cricket and take lots of wickets in domestic cricket yet are found wanting when it comes to international cricket. This is just typical of a system that needs an overhaul and a re-think.


Umar Akmal as the ODI and T20 wicket-keeper

I don’t agree with Umar Akmal playing as the wicket-keeper in the shorter formats. He’s a fine batsman but the problem I have with this is that he’s not even keeping wicket in club cricket in Pakistan or in first class cricket and to expect someone to keep wicket only in international cricket is ridiculous. He needs to be keeping wicket at every opportunity in every match that he plays in if they want to make him the permanent choice as wicket-keeper for Pakistan.


Hammad Azam’s lack of Progress

I think it’s the right decision to send him to Singapore with the Under 23s but I don’t think he should have been appointed captain. Picking cricketers as captain should be based upon a theory of whether the selectors and Board think that a player has the capability of captaining Pakistan at a senior level and I’m not sure that is the case with Hammad.

Hammad has to prove himself. He’s at a crossroads and at the moment he’s not good enough in any facet of the game to warrant selection. Is he a batsman who bowls a bit......I’m not sure, but he really needs to work on his game and establish himself. There’s improvement to be made and a lot of hard work ahead for Hammad if he is to play on a regular basis for Pakistan.


Umar Amin has immense potential

Umar looks a very talented cricketer to me. He’s got that sparkle in his eyes, he’s itching to do well. There’s a desire and hunger in his cricket and these are all good signs. Sadly though Umar has not been given too many opportunities and this is where I was delighted that Mohammad Hafeez gave Umar a chance to bat at number three in the Twenty20 format. At the Champions Trophy Umar should have been batting higher up the order than he was as he looked one of the few Pakistani batsmen who was in form. But for one reason or another Misbah didn’t give Umar a proper chance. However I hope that Umar can establish himself as he is a batsman with immense potential.


DRS

At the end of the day it’s a man-made technology. It will never be perfect and cricketers and administrators have to realise that it will never be perfect and instead use it as a help for umpires instead of thinking that it is the be-all and end-all for decision making. Also it will never be perfect as long as it’s in the wrong hands.

Discuss