LAHORE - Junaid Khan, the young left-arm pacer, has been a ray of hope as he impressed one and all during the Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Pakistan chief selector Iqbal Qasim praised Junaid Khan but is not happy with the other upcoming fast bowlers’ lot in the country and as he feels that the youngsters are content with bowling at the right line and length, instead of focusing on speed. He added, "The reason I feel for this is a focus on T20 cricket and 50 over cricket. Perhaps youngsters are not putting their efforts into becoming fast bowlers and instead going for the easier option of bowling medium pace and concentrating on line and length."
Junaid Khan in and out from the team despite his good performances may dishearten him but he is not dejected over treatment meted out to him and has been trying hard to make a comeback for Pakistan tour to India. He is keeping himself busy and training hard to maintain his fitness and rhythm.
It will be the tough job for selectors to keep him out of the Indian tour despite his performances in the past. The Indian tour is always important as neighbouring countries fan hate defeats at the hands of arch-rivals. Pakistan and Indian fans want their team win against either side as victory and defeat are part of the game. But the neighbouring countries fans want that their team beat the other team.
This tour will prove make and break for many players of either side and players fail to prove their credentials their international career will be at stake. And if selectors failed to select right squad then they should be answerable to Pakistan Cricket Board over their poor selection of team.
In the present lot fast bowler Tabish Khan from Karachi, Rahat Ali from Multan, M Irfan from Gaggo Mandi, Abdul Rauf from Multan and U-19 fast bowler Ehsan Adil are in the limelight. But Tabish Khan from Karachi and Ehsan Adil have impressed with their performance in the Grade-1 President's Cup. The other bowlers bowled waywardly and fail to impress with their bowling in a bid to bowl fast.
Pakistan has always produced genuine speedsters, who terrorised the batsmen in the world, includes the likes of Fazal Mahmood, Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akthar and M Zahid, his career was short-lived due to injuries.
M Aamir and M Asif came into the limelight from the domestic cricket and were rated the finest new-ball bowlers of the world. But unfortunately both were found guilty of spot-fixing in 2010 England tour and are currently facing a lengthy ban from competitive cricket.
The Pakistan has relied on the likes of Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, M Sami, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir. However, all of them have been extremely inconsistent at the international level. Emerging fast bowlers should look to bowl fast, instead of trying to limit the batsmen through accuracy. He feels that speed is essential to be successful at the world-stage, he claimed.