Intikhab Alam sees West Indies tour an opportunity for younger players

Intikhab Alam manager of the Pakistani cricket thinks the Caribbean tour is an opportunity for young players to prove their talent.

Intikhab said this while speaking to the media about the upcoming tour of the Caribbean at Gaddafi Stadium.

Team Pakistan had suffered during the World Cup 2011 because of players not fit enough to give their 100 %.

The selection of over aged Akthar in the team playing the semi-final was a million dollar question.

The Pakistani side committed a number of blunders on the field courtesy old hands (Younis Khan, Misbah Ul Haq, Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq) while the  younger players (Asad Shafiq, Umer Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad) fielded brilliantly.

Aged players failed to convert singles into doubles and doubles into triples.

Many ex-cricketers have emphasised the need to include young blood in the side. Otherwise Team Pakistan will be facing the same crisis in the next World Cup.

The PCB has decided to select several uncapped players for the tour of West Indies.

Last week, selection committee of PCB announced 16-man Twenty20 and ODI squad for the upcoming tour of the Caribbean.

They selected new players Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Sadaf Hussain and wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman in the team.

The Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi also wanted to rest the senior members of the team.

Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis considers the tour of Caribbean as the perfect opportunity for young guns in the side. Pakistani Coach wants new players to take this opportunity to replace seniors.

Younis said; “The tour will be important for youngsters and it will be a test for them,”

Pakistan team started their two day training camp at Gaddafi Stadium today.

Intikhab said, “We will have around four to five days before the series gets underway and that will be ample time for the players to adapt to the playing conditions in St Lucia.

Team Pakistan will reach West Indies on April 16 and tour will start with a warm up match on April 18. The only Twenty20 will be played in St Lucia on April 21. ODI series of five matches will start on April 23 and the test matches will be played in the middle of next month.