ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan cricket team chief selector and head coach Mohsin Hasan Khan has lashed out at team’s pathetic performance against New Zealand and termed the selectors responsible for the debacle.
Talking to The Nation, Mohsin said: “No one else but the chief selector and coach should be held accountable for losing the ODI series against Black Caps, who gained much-needed match practice and managed to rest senior players before the world cup and gave chance to their second string.”
“Only Kiwis benefited from the series while Pakistan missed the golden opportunity to be ready for the world cup. They should have taken full advantage from the home-like conditions in the UAE and given chance to their younger lot, but the fear of defeat prevented the chief selector and coach to take bold decisions.”
Mohsin questioned if the selectors couldn’t pick the best playing XI for the entire series, how it would be possible for them to choose 15 players for the world cup. “Pakistani selectors and coaching staff relaxed down after defeating Australians in the Test series, and took New Zealand very lightly. We are running short of fast bowling options and even our opening department is yet to be confirmed. Pakistan should have opted to include young and fresh faces just like New Zealand did and gained a lot from the series, while Pakistan failed to take any sort of advantage.”
“Waqar and the selectors overused the key bowlers, which resulted in injuries. Now Umar Gul is out due to injury, Saeed is absent due to suspect bowling action, Juniad is still a major doubt and Wahab is also feeling the heat, but the good thing is that Irfan avoided injury otherwise, Pakistan would have struggled a lot in the World Cup,” he added.
Mohsin termed a month-long training camp at National Cricket Academy (NCA) the main reason behind series of injuries to major bowlers. “I am shocked as there was no need of conducting such type of camp especially keeping in view, Pakistani bowlers were already struggling with fitness problems, and camp further aggravated the situation and now Pakistan team is facing serious bowling crisis. Now we are struggling to find suitable bowlers who may play for the country in the world cup.”
“It is quite surprising that the team management is thinking about winning the world cup with part time bowlers like Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shahzad. No one could even think about winning ordinary matches with part-timers, so such gambles don’t work in big and mega events, so the PCB should think about it seriously, otherwise, the results could be the worst.”
“Though Australia was badly beaten by Pakistan in the Test series yet they bounced back and assembled new team. Pakistan must follow the same, and take bold decisions on merit as this is the only way to go ahead positively and get desired results. It really hurts when we see our team going down and down with every match and series. My best wishes are obviously with green caps and I want them to lift the trophy,” he stated.
“I will strongly recommend the chief selector and coach must put faith in regular bowlers rather than relying on part-timers. Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar can resolve Pakistan bowling woes and help the green caps in best possible manner. The players like Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shahzad should be utilized as specialist batsmen, which will help concentrate on their main job which will result in better way,” Mohsin concluded.