The much anticipated announcement of the 15 man squad to represent Pakistan in the upcoming series against Australia in UAE and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup was finally made on the 17th of July. Whilst the retention of Mohammed Hafeez as captain of the T20 squad was expected as were some familiar names in the shape of Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, concerns have been raised about the selection and non-selection of some others especially given the inconsistent performances in the recently concluded series in Sri Lanka.
The Chief Selector, Iqbal Qasim was tasked with the final decision on selection of this 15 man squad and as expected, has come under fire from some quarters regarding the thought process behind some selection decisions. In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, former left arm spinner Qasim staunchly defended the stand of the selection committee in regards to the inclusion and omission of players and attempted to explain the rationale behind their decisions.
Kamran Akmal’s return to the Pakistani Team
Firstly, the integrity committee has cleared Kamran of any wrongdoing. Secondly, the boy [Shakeel Ansar] who we selected for the T20s in Sri Lanka based on domestic performances; he did not provide a good impression or show a spark to us to make us believe he could deliver with his performance. At this stage, as Kamran was cleared and as we didn’t have any other options, then we decided to select Kamran for this short project.
Shakeel Ansar – was he given a fair chance to prove himself?
It’s important to look at the format (and importance) of the upcoming matches against Australia and the World Cup tournament. If we did not have a major tournament like the T20 World Cup and it was just another mutual series after Australia then perhaps we may very well have selected him. In such series, you can experiment a bit more, but a T20 World Cup is a major international event and only the players who can sustain pressure will survive. You will often see in such major tournaments that the youngsters can struggle to find their feet.
On The Omission of Hammad Azam and Haris Sohail
We have not set up a road block for these guys even though both didn’t play in the series in Sri Lanka. The case with Hammad Azam was that as Pakistan has had a brittle lower batting order with such a long tail, it was important that we have players down the order that can bat. **We gave the choice of Hammad Azam, but the captain and coach did not have confidence in Hammad. Then I started looking at what Abdul Razzaq was up to and his recent performances in England. I saw that he was amongst the top scorers in T20 games in England as well as being amongst the wickets. So he is really a man in form, and again in pressure matches, it is experience that counts.
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The exclusion of experienced Abdur Rehman and inclusion of Raza Hasan
The reason is that Raza Hasan is an equally good bowler in this format. We have seen him bowl in T20s in domestic cricket and he bowls very well and controls his nerves. I have never seen him panic when bowling even in the death overs, and his line and direction when bowling is as good as Rehman. I didn’t think that Rehman’s experience was that big a factor as I think Raza is equally good.
The inclusion of Nasir Jamshed despite him yet to play a T20I
His selection was obviously approved for the Sri Lankan series. Unfortunately he was not match-fit to play in that series, but now that he is fit again, I had to give him preference. Last time he was selected it was based on his domestic performance and his performance in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In T20s it is important to look at form.
On Junaid Khan’s omission in place of Mohammad Sami after Junaid performed so well in Sri Lanka
This is a very good question. **My opinion is the same as that of many others in that I preferred Junaid over Mohammad Sami. However, the captain and coach preferred the idea of speed that Sami can provide. You may recall from the 2nd T20 game in Sri Lanka that he [Sami] performed quite well and took some important wickets. It was the opinion of the captain and coach that we should not look at how he has bowled in other formats, but focus on his performance in the T20s. I wasn’t ready to buy this argument but they were persistent – they felt more comfortable with Sami in the squad so I had to approve.
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On having 4 openers in the squad
We obviously cannot play all 4 as openers. Some of them will be in the runs, and the on tour selection committee will decide who plays and who sits out. I don’t think this is a big issue. T20s is a very interesting format, some captains prefer “bits and pieces” type players while some give preference to pure batsmen. It really depends on our captain and coach on which strategy they decide to go with and who plays, that is their prerogative.
Ahmed Shahzad missing out after being top scorer in the first T20
Another good question. There was neck and neck competition between Ahmed Shahzad and Imran Nazir. The slight advantage that Imran Nazir has is that he specialises in T20s. The captain also had more confidence in Imran Nazir. For Ahmed Shahzad, this is not the end of the road. The reports that he is not listening to the captain is all rubbish talk. He is a good guy. It just happens in the selection that sometimes you may miss out due to one or two points. There are limited seats, you cannot select 18 players, but are restricted to only 15 spots. So some players will miss out. It does not mean that his cricketing career is over. He is a good young kid and I’m sure he’ll get more opportunities in future and will be back.
Yasir Arafat being included, even after a poor showing in FLT20 tournament in England
The reasoning behind his inclusion is that he was part of the Pakistani squad for the T20s against Sri Lanka, and that his performance was alright. The captain felt that Yasir Arafat was needed for the team and was well set in the team and deserved a chance – for the sake of continuity. So we decided to give him a run in the T20 World Cup and for the matches against Australia. T20s is a very odd type of cricket, where you can hardly think of a fixed, solid plan as to a fixed number of batsmen or bowlers. In this format, you feel like including anyone who can bowl or bat so that the captain will have a greater choice and gain advantage. This is why players like Yasir Arafat are able to survive in T20 format and this is also the reason for his choice.
Aizaz Cheema being ignored even after his heroics in the Asia Cup
If the captain had selected one of Gul and Sami, then it may have been a choice between Cheema and Junaid for a spot in the squad, but Junaid has not been selected and both Sami and Gul have. There is no hurry in rushing Cheema into the T20 team as he is doing well in Test matches and one bad game could ruin his confidence.
On request from the coach and captain, Gul and Sami were preferred as they were senior players and had good speed. So we had to listen to their request. I have to listen to the captain and coach – their views cannot be ignored.
Pakistan’s chances at the ICC T20 World Cup
In my opinion out of the two fast bowlers we have, I think it would be better if they play one of them. I do not think either are in the best of form, and they should look at playing one with an all-rounder such as Sohail Tanvir. I think this strategy is important, as playing both Gul and Sami could hamper our chances.
