‘Expectations high from newcomers’

KARACHI: Former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu on Monday said that expectations were high from the new selection committee and the newly appointed One-day International (ODI) captain.
“Expectations are high from the new selection committee members and I believe that they will pick right cricketers to fill the gap left after the retirement of key players like Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi. Moreover, replacing the various non-performing players would also be a challenge,” Sallu told PPI.
Haroon Rasheed has replaced controversial Moin Khan as chief selector. He previously held the post of Director National Cricket Academy and batting consultant of women cricketers. Saleem Jaffar, Azhar Khan and Kabir Khan are members of the selection committee.
Meanwhile, batsman Azhar Ali, who was not even considered for the World Cup squad, has been picked to lead Pakistan ODI side. Misbah will continue to lead Test while Afridi will lead T20 side. Sarfraz Ahmed, one of the few success stories for Pakistan in the World Cup, will be deputy to Azhar Ali in ODIs and to Shahid Afridi in T20s.
“I am hopeful Azhar deliver the goods for the team. He has captained Sui Gas team in Patron’s Trophy so he has some captaincy stints before,” Sallu added.
Meanwhile, Sallu praised Misbah and Afridi, who have retired from ODI cricket, for serving the national team well.
He said that he saw some good and some bad performances from Pakistan cricketers in the World Cup.
“We saw some mixed performances from Pakistan cricket team players. Wahab Riaz bowled marvelously against the Australians in quarter-finals while Sarfraz’s maiden century in the World Cup and record-equaling six catches behind the wickets against Proteas were some golden moments for Pakistan in the mega event,” he recalled.
He said that the World Cup gave great chance to youngsters to showcase their talent but unfortunately for them, they failed to avail the opportunity.
“However, our bowling department performed in the world cup. But now fitness problem will be a challenge. Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan hopefully would recover soon,” he said.