By By our correspondent
Qadir told ‘The News’ that he has taken input from fellow selectors — Saleem Jaffer and Shoaib Mohammad — as well as from Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam and will submit a provisional squad to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) soon.
He said that the list will include 20-25 cricketers, who will most likely be attending a brief training camp starting in Karachi from February 14.
Pakistan are to host Sri Lanka for two Tests at home. The first Test will begin in Karachi from February 21 followed by the second and final match in Lahore.
The Test series will be preceded by a two-day warm-up game in Karachi on February 17-18.
Qadir, 53, said that he wants to give Pakistan’s second string cricketers an opportunity to prove their mettle in the warm-up game.
“I believe it would be good if we give our youngsters a chance to play against Sri Lanka in the two-day game,” he said.
He said that the selection committee has decided to review the records of the current domestic season as well as the previous one before selecting the team.
Qadir said that he had initially thought about including middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal and all-rounder Fawad Alam in the squad for the two-day game but later opted to include them directly in the preliminary Test squad.
“They are both established cricketers and it would be better if they are selected directly in the Test squad,” he said.
Qadir, who took 236 wickets from 67 Tests, said that the team for the first Test would be announced during the training camp adding that some changes could be made in the line-up for the second Test on the basis of the players’ performance in the warm-up game and the series opener.
Qadir said that the brief training camp will be organised in a bid to invoke team spirit in the side which he said was lacking in the ODI series against Sri Lanka which Pakistan lost 1-2.
“I won’t even call it a camp,” said the former Test spinner. “It would be more like a get-together of the players. It would give them and the team officials to sit down and make plans for the series,” he added.
Qadir said that Pakistan will have to come out with a solid strategy to beat Sri Lanka in the Test series.
“We will have to devise strategies to face their bowlers, who are very good and to tackle their world class batsmen,” he said.
“We want to select a strong squad for the Tests and I’m confident we will do that,” he concluded.