Comment: At least they got the squad right this time

Amid the constant furore that rose with every problem Pakistan cricket has faced in the last couple of years, it was a pleasure to see the squad announced for the Twenty20s and Test matches against New Zealand.

Pakistan has recently come out of a good series against South Africa; drawn Tests against the fancied opponents and the efforts were greatly appreciated by the pundits and thus selecting the squad was not that difficult but the job still had to be done.

The best thing that happened to Pakistan in the UAE was the emergence of young fighters: Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. The duo showed great technique and tremendous poise at the crease with Ali carrying on the determination he showed glimpses of in England. Some of the stalwarts enhanced their reputations in this series as well but a genuine fan of Pakistan cricket would have derived great pleasure from the young duo.

The predicament facing the selectors was of a different nature. Several players that they would have selected without thinking twice were unavailable. Apart from the tainted trio, players like Kamran Akmal , Danish Kaneria , Shoaib Malik were not cleared by the International Cricket Council but despite that, the committee did a reasonable job.

Akmal’s omission brought the biggest sigh of relief, personally. His demise has been gradual since the forfeited Oval Test and it finally hit rock-bottom in Sydney. His glovework, particularly against the spinners, has been weak. Malik, too, did not deserve a place in the team especially since Mohammad Hafeez has been doing well, playing the part of an off-spinning all-rounder to the hilt. As a batsman, he has improved and that gave Pakistan the liberty of dropping the inconsistent Malik.

However, the plight of Kaneria saddens me. Cleared by British police, the punishment seems weird and out of order. A genuine leg-spinner that he is, Kaneria could have been dangerous against the Kiwis who remain suspect against leg-spinners.

The other good thing the selectors did was not to pick Shafiq and Ali in the Twenty20 squad. I would also request them not to pick the duo for the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) either because once a young cricketer is picked to play limited-over matches, he mends his technique in the quest of quick runs and thus starts to play across the line. That, ultimately, leads to downfall in the Test arena.

Shot-selection is key to a batsman’s success at Test level and ODIs ruin that, more so in the first few years of a career. Right now, we need these two desperately for the longer format of the game as we can live with average players in the ODIs.

The writer is Asia’s first female cricket commentator and a television analyst.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2010.