Ignoring experienced players a folly: Jalal

KARACHI: Former Test and ODI fast bowler Jalaluddin has slammed the selection committee for excluding three experienced players while announcing the team for the T20 Asia Cup and World T20.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said the selection committee took decisions under fear of criticism from media.

Jalal said that those who had been playing T20 cricket for last one year should have been retained for the big events.

He said that Ahmad Shahzad, Sohaib Maqsood and Mohammad Rizwan were experienced players. “They haven’t played well recently but they have played some good cricket during the last one year. They have experience and could have sustained the pressure of big matches in Bangladesh and India,” he said.

Jalal said that timing of decisions played a big part in cricket. “Unfortunately our selection committee fails to take decisions in time,” he lamented.

He said the selection committee had no vision and took decisions under pressure from media.

He said it was surprising that Mohammad Asghar, who had bowled outstandingly in the PSL and earlier in domestic cricket, was rejected. “If maturity is the criterion, why did they pick Nawaz and Rumman Raees?” he asked.

He said Asghar was bowling superbly against world renowned batsmen. “He is a leading wicket taker and economical too,” said Jalal, who is a Level 4 Coach. “They should have given opportunity to him because he is in form and his confidence level is high.

“They have picked all-rounders who can bat and bowl a bit, but are not specialists,” he said.

Jalal said the team lacked specialists and included many all-rounders. “There should have been some specialists in each department,” he said.

He said it was surprising that Rizwan had been kept in the team for last one year. “He has been excluded now when his services were needed for big events. And his performance hasn’t been poor. The selection committee lost an option of another wicket-keeper. They also did not select Kamran Akmal who is playing well.

“The same thing selection committee did in the ODI World Cup when Shoaib Malik was playing well, but was ignored. When Pakistan lost, they selected him. They are repeating their mistakes,” said Jalal.

“Stating that there can be changes till March 8 shows that the selection committee is not confident about its decisions,” he added.

Jalal said all countries had finalised their teams months ago. “But our selection committee is still doing experiments,” he said.