Taufeeq calls for consistent selection policies

Discarded batsman displeased at being overlooked for Test series against SA.

RAWALPINDI:

Discarded batsman Taufeeq Umar has called for consistent policies in selection after he was overlooked for the Test series against South Africa which concluded yesterday.

Currently representing SNGPL in the President’s Trophy, Umar last played against Sri Lanka in July. He was dropped from the Pakistan team after he suffered an injury in an away series against the Proteas.

In his last four Test innings, he registered scores of 65, 42 not out, 29 and five against the Sri Lankans back in 2012. However, after being injured against South Africa in January this year, he found himself out of national reckoning, a situation he has not been pleased about.

“I feel that there should be consistent policies as far as the national team’s selection is concerned,” Umar told The Express Tribune.

“If any player gets injured or opts out of a series due to family problems, that doesn’t mean the selectors should overlook his performance in the international arena and induct new players performing at the domestic level.

“When such incidents occur, players decide against calling on a resting period even if they aren’t 100% fit because of their insecurity over being able to retain their place in the team.”

‘My best performances are against South Africa’

So far in his career, the left-hand opener enjoys an impressive record against the Proteas, which beckons a healthy average of 60.83 after scoring an impressive 730 runs in six Tests, including two centuries and four half-centuries.

“My best performances are against the Africans, yet those statistics were overlooked and this has disappointed me a lot,” stated Umar. “These numbers should be taken into account.”

SBP claim 133-run win over HBL in President’s Trophy

Pacer Tabish Khan claimed a five-wicket haul as SBP stunned HBL with an emphatic 133-run win in their President’s Trophy match on day four.

HBL started the last day on nine for two needing 284 runs, but they were rattled by Tabish and Mohammad Naved as they bundled out for 160 in 50.2 overs.

In another match, Wapda defeated ZTBL by 213 runs.

Rawalpindi register win in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Haseeb Azam and Akhtar Ayub claimed 15 wickets between them as Rawalpindi thrashed Bahawalpur by an innings and 130 runs in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Following on, Rawalpindi were bowled out for 255 in 90.2 overs.

Meanwhile, Karachi Whites also registered an innings and 20-run victory against Lahore Shalimar.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2013.

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