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Wasim responds to criticism over picking young cricketers for Africa tour

The 42-year-old revealed that the selectors wanted to try out new players against Zimbabwe

Wasim responds to criticism over picking young cricketers for Africa tour PHOTO COURTESY: PCB

Pakistan’s chief selector Mohammad Wasim, while talking to PakPassion.net, responded to criticism over picking young cricketers for the national side’s upcoming tour of Africa, claiming that people are forgetting that the squad also includes players for matches against Zimbabwe.

The 42-year-old revealed that the selectors wanted to try out new players against Zimbabwe.

“I think people are forgetting that there are two tours, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Everybody is thinking that the squad is just for South Africa and are overlooking the Zimbabwe leg of the tour where we have matches also. We want to try out these new boys like Arshad Iqbal who has a bit of experience as he has been around for the last couple of seasons and has been bowling well not just in the PSL but also in domestic cricket,” Wasim said.

“Mohammad Wasim Jr has been picked early but I want to reiterate the point about fast-tracking players where we are lacking options. Wasim comes into the all-rounder category because he can bowl his full 4 overs. We had other options like Amad Butt and Aamer Yamin but can they be considered as reliable bowlers, because what we are seeing is that they are only okay bowling a couple of overs. Yamin is good with the new ball but he struggles with the older ball. Amad Butt cannot be relied upon to bowl 4 overs and that is where both Yamin and Amad need to improve and this is where the coaches will come in and work with both of them,” he added.

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The chief selector praised the all-round ability of newly selected pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr while singling him out as a potential replacement in case the Men in Green rest all-rounder Faheem Ashraf.

“Wasim comes in not just as a fast-bowler, but as an all-rounder. He can give you 4 reliable overs and he can bat. At the moment we only have Faheem Ashraf as a pace-bowling all-rounder so we need a back-up for him and Wasim gives us that option. There are quite a few games on the upcoming tour and if Faheem needs a break Wasim will be there,” he said.

“Twenty20 cricket is about energy and fresh legs and whilst I agree that some players have been brought in early in their careers, I am trying to build a pool of players and want to try out these youngsters for a couple of series and then trim down our options before selecting the Twenty20 World Cup squad. We are experimenting a bit and that is to increase our pool of players and to increase our options,” he concluded.