Cricket team selection

Following the crushing defeats, it was expected that a few heads would roll and make way for fresh ones.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has included mercurial all-rounder Shahid Afridi and batsman Umar Akmal in the One-Day International and Twenty20 squads for the West Indies tour that starts later this month, hoping that the changes would help restore order following the debacle at the ICC Champions Trophy. The list of exclusions, which pleased all, barring the players themselves, featured opener Imran Farhat, all-rounder Shoaib Malik and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. The trio’s poor form and, more importantly, their failure to justify their places in the national team convinced the selectors that it was time to drop them.

Following the crushing defeats at the mega event, it was expected that a few heads would roll and make way for fresh ones. In this case, the selection committee, which has since been dissolved, decided to fall back on Afridi and Umar — both of whom have failed to cement their places despite decent runs in the squad. While they might be motivated to perform on their comebacks, how long can they sustain their drive to do well is another matter. The fact is that they were dropped due to poor form but were recalled without showing any signs of regaining it. Suffice to say that if they fail again, it won’t be surprising.

For years, the selection criterion for the national team has been the same. Drop the seniors if the team does poorly, claiming that “they are past their prime”, include youngsters, who then fail since they are inexperienced, and then recall the veterans because they are “still needed”. This is an annoying cycle that has continued for a long time. A lack of ready-made players and a low level of competitiveness in the domestic circuit are major reasons behind our decline. We blame it on lack of international cricket in the country but did we really produce genuine ready-made players when we could still play at home? We have always banked on raw talent. It is time we changed that; otherwise, the word “mercurial” will tag along with the national team every time it plays.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2013.

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