Despite Farhat’s below-par performance in the Champions Trophy and the tour of South Africa, the selection committee included him in the squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan’s cricket selection committee, working without a chief selector on a ‘day-to-day basis’, is reportedly experiencing differences with the team management.
According to an official close to the selection committee, Test and One-Day International (ODI) captain Misbahul Haq was at odds with the selection committee over the choice of Imran Farhat for the two Test matches in the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.
The official elaborated that the captain was not happy with the performance of the left-handed opener, who failed miserably in the Champions Trophy, scoring only two runs each against the West Indies and South Africa before being dropped for the last match.
“Misbah strongly opposed Farhat’s inclusion,” the official told The Express Tribune. “He wanted to retain Taufeeq Umar in the Test squad because he was disappointed with Farhat’s performance.
“The skipper stressed that Taufeeq was more reliable as an opener in Tests on the basis of his performance in the previous season [2011].”
Taufeeq was the first choice for the Test series against South Africa earlier this year. However, he returned without playing a match after suffering an injury and was replaced by Farhat who scored 73 (30 and 43) in Centurion in his only Test opportunity against Proteas on that tour. Taufeeq, on the other hand, managed just a half-century in the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka last year.
“Taufeeq has been struggling for a while in Tests as well as at domestic level.
“Meanwhile, Farhat has shown a better performance than Taufeeq in domestic cricket. He also scored a triple century in the last domestic season. That is why the selectors have given him a chance in Tests. He may have failed in the ODIs but the selectors felt they have no grounds to drop the opener in Tests.”
Farhat’s selection has often been branded a case of nepotism because of his close relationship with former Test cricketer and chief selector Mohammad Ilyas. But the opening batsman has dismissed the notion, saying he always made his place the national team on merit.
The left-hander started his career in 2001 but never cemented his place in the team; he has played in just 53 ODIs and 40 Tests.
Team to train in post-eid camp
After celebrating Eidul Fitr, the national players will assemble on August 12 in Lahore for a short conditioning camp from the following day for the tour of Zimbabwe.
According to a team official, no extensive training sessions were planned for the five-day camp that will be missed by Misbah, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad, who will join the team directly in Zimbabwe due to their ongoing commitment with the Caribbean league.
“There will be normal training sessions,” said the official. “Most of the players are already in rhythm due to their participation in Ramazan events.”
The Pakistan team is scheduled to depart for Zimbabwe on August 19 for three ODIs, two Tests and as many Twenty20 games.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 9th, 2013.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS (16)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
May be he has been included in order to provide catching practise to Zimbabwean slip fielders :)
But on the other hand, it's not just Farhat. The other opening batsmen that have been tried over the last decade haven't been much better either. Even Hafeez who has a permanent slot can't perform consistently. The problem is our domestic system which just isn't producing good batsment. By the way, here is an interesting discussion of Imran Khan's views on how to fix our domestic structure: http://www.pakmonitor.com/fixing-pakistans-cricket-structure-imran-khans-recipe/
I have got to say that that picture is awesome.
If this is the case I have retained a little bit of respect for Misbah, there was absolutely no reason to drop Taufeeq and equally no justification to select Farhat; sham selction process. Misbah should've been stronger and insisted on Taufeeq's selection.
@Awan: Haha thanks dude! Did you like it? :D
an excrept from Mr, Saeed's blogpost,
"He’s like a dandelion seed. You blow him away and he slowly floats back. Slowly and steadily he makes his way to the ground, where he stays for quite some while, before a very strong gust of wind again blows him away, and he later comes floating back."
I couldn't have said it better!
and the only reason he is back is his father-in-law, Muhammad Ilyas. whose selection as a seletor is itself questionable!
Farhat is like a rotten egg. He must be dropped for ever
I think the same as misbah... He should not be given chance as he is spoiled and well tried already
Justice pls selectors. Many youngsters r waiting for a chance
Why old guy Faisal Iqbal in the team with batting avg of 26 in 26 tests is selected but no youngsters like Umar Akmal, Umar Amin or Haris Sohail with much better record there. Just because he is nephew of Miandad.
I Cant understand y Imran farhat is so much criticised . His stats are still much better as compared to many. His relationship has become a curse for him
You can read about what I feel about Imran Farhat here http://sundayfolly.blogspot.com/2013/08/imran-farhat-my-hero.html
Farhat weras the bandana which is i sign of an adventurist-never a good sign for an opening position batsman! They need to have players who are balanced and mature. Farhat maybe a good T20 player.
‘Misbah didn’t want Farhat in the squad' actually no one wanted him in the squad
hope he fails again..
I understand Misbah's viewpoint, no captain can agree to carrying dead-weight in his team.
This is a strategy to make Imran Farhat play against the most pathetic team in cricket these days i.e. Zimbabwe, just so that Imran can score some runs and they can justify his selection for future matches. There is no rocket science to this.