Senior batsmen must take responsibility: Sallu

KARACHI: The conditions in New Zealand are similar to those in England where Pakistan won the Champions Trophy last year, so there’s a need to reevaluate the strategy, says former selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu.

He told PPI a day prior to the last match of the series on Friday that senior batsmen must start taking responsibility and at least win the last match against New Zealand. “I have a strong belief that our team has the talent to perform in these conditions. I don’t think the conditions are that difficult. We did well in England in Champions Trophy. The only difference is that New Zealand is more windy, which gives some edge to bowlers,” he added.

Hosts New Zealand have outclassed the Champions Trophy winners in all four matches. “The players received a lot following the Champions Trophy triumph. It’s now their turn to return with their performance,” he said.

He said that the team had the best available players and that criticising only captain Sarfraz Ahmed was harsh. “Whenever a team wins, it’s due to the team effort. The same goes when the team loses. A single player shouldn’t be criticised for a bad performance from the team,” he added.

He further said that the team might be having good batsmen but they had not proved themselves good finishers as Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq and Michael Bevan of Australia were.

“When a player reaches 60, he should convert it into a century. That is what is needed from senior batsmen,” he said. “Hafeez scoring 60 and 80 and Shadab Khan picking three wickets in a span of around ten runs was something good,” he added. Sallu said that the experiment of sending Fahim Ashraf as the opener was not a good one. “Opening is a specialised job, just like wicket-keeping,” he added.