The blundering Pakistan cricket selectors continued to play musicalchairs with next month’s England tour aspirants when they named a 20-man provisional list on Tuesday instead of naming the final 16
Samiul Hasan25-Apr-2001The blundering Pakistan cricket selectors continued to play musicalchairs with next month’s England tour aspirants when they named a 20-man provisional list on Tuesday instead of naming the final 16.All the “walking wounded” that toured New Zealand but forced to returnincluding former captain Wasim Akram were named in the provisionallist. The sole casualty being Moin Khan who had lost his captaincy toa lucky Waqar Younis earlier this month.”Moin has been left out because of his inconsistent performance,”chairman of selectors Wasim Bari explained without elaborating if itwas his wicket keeping or batting that led to his ouster.To benefit from Moin’s unceremonious exit was another former captainRashid Latif who last represented Pakistan in Harare, Zimbabwe, on the1997-98 tour. Rashid is the only wicket keeper in the list, whichguarantees him a third successive tour to England for which the teamleaves on May 2.Inconsistent Imran Nazir and Shahid Afridi, who were described by theselectors as one-day specialists and were not considered for the Testseries in New Zealand after the limited overs rubber, were retained.In-and-out, Mohammad Wasim, who has played 18 Tests since making hisdebut in 1996, was also recalled after 12 months in wilderness.Also amongst the probables was paceman “joyrider” Shoaib Akhtar whosefitness was unknown though his controversial bowling action wascleared by the University of Western Australia.”The formal official report on his (Shoaib), will be forwarded by thePCB’s bowling advisors for onward submission to ICC,” a PCB statementsaid.On a day of chaos and confusion, powerless chief selector Wasim Bari,said in the afternoon that he had submitted a squad of 16 to thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) advisory council for approval andannouncement.However, the PCB in the evening came up with the names of 20 probablesclaiming that the squad would be finalized in the next couple of daysbecause the medical reports of several players were still beingawaited.Later in the evening, Bari took a somersault when he claimed he had,in fact, submitted the provisional squad and not the 16- man team.Nevertheless, Bari left the PCB officials red-faced when he confirmedthat he had been conveyed by the cricket managers in Lahore that allthe players were available for selection after clearing medical tests.Contradictions after contradictions and repeated communication gapbetween the selectors and the PCB hierarchy once again reflect the sadstate affairs of Pakistan cricket. If there is no planning and coordination amongst the administrators themselves, to demand cohesionand unity from the team is perhaps asking for too much.Brig Munawwar Rana, the director of the PCB, said from Lahore that themedical reports on some players were expected within the next 48 hoursafter which the team would be announced.He, however, didn’t reveal the names of the players whose selectionswere subject to medical clearance.Wasim Akram had appeared before the three-man medical team on Sundaywhile Moin had cleared his medical test on April 13. The remainingplayers could be Yousuf Youhana, Azhar Mahmood and PCB’s blue-eyed boyShoaib Akhtar.Sequence of events confirm apprehensions that the PCB administratorswere adamant to show Moin the door. Initially named skipper until thetour to England, Moin was removed as captain on fitness grounds eventhough only two days before, he had been given a clean bill of healthby the medical experts of the board and along with Wasim Akram alsoappeared in the on-going one-day competition.The statistics of Moin, who was also dropped in 1993 before regaininghis number No 1 slot in 1996, in the last 16 months doesn’t justifythe claims of the selectors.Moin, who was bestowed with lifetime achievement award by the PCB lastyear, in 11 Tests as captain, scored 369 runs at 24.60 whileaccounting for 28 batsmen behind the wickets. In 63 Tests, Moin scored2,493 runs and dismissed 134 batsmen. In 190 one-day internationalsMoin has scored 2,853 runs. His 256 dismissal is a world record.But the factor that played the decisive role in his dismissal was thathe made more enemies than friends in the PCB. Moin repeatedly objectedto outside interference in team matters which didn’t please PCBofficials and the selectors.Needless to say that the PCB sacked two selectors earlier this yearwhen they protested against outside interference. Last month anotherselector Sikander Bakth also resigned.The unnecessary delay in the announcement of the 16-man squadobviously smells rat. And the bone of contention or debate is noneother than Wasim Akram.Sources within the PCB have confirmed that skipper Waqar Younis, oncedeclared by the PCB chief himself that he (Waqar) was not a certainityin the team, was in no compromising mood and flatly refused to acceptWasim in the squad. Sources say Waqar feels that Wasim’s inclusion inthe team will not allow the skipper to enjoy total command over theaffairs.”The PCB are trying to buy time, hoping that they will convince Waqarto change his heart,” sources said.Wasim’s allout effort to get into the squad has helped him retain hisplace in the 20. But whether he would find a place in the touringside? Only time will tell.Provisional squad (in bracket are age and number of Testsplayed):Saeed Anwar (32, 52), Imran Farhat (19, 3), Mohammad Wasim (23, 18),Imran Nazir (20, 5), Shahid Afridi (21, 11), Faisal Iqbal (20, 3),Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain) (31, 72), Yousuf Youhana (26, 30),Younis Khan (24, 12), Salim Elahi (25, 8), Abdur Razzaq (22, 12),Azhar Mahmood (26, 19), Wasim Akram (34, 100), Waqar Younis (30, 71),Shoaib Akhtar (26, 15), Fazle Akbar (21, 4), Mohammad Sami (20, 2),Saqlain Mushtaq (24, 34), Mushtaq Ahmad (30, 50), Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper) (32, 22).