PAKISTAN CHIEF SELECTOR MOHSIN KHAN CLAIMS TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO RECOGNISE YOUNG TALENT

The Pakistan Cricket Board selection committee chief, Mohsin Khan on Thursday claimed to be the first-ever chief selector to give opportunities to young talent and select a new-look national team.

The former Pakistan batsman said that the former PCB selectors made claims about injecting fresh blood in the side but failed to do so properly.

“I think the present selection committee is the first one to properly work on a plan to blood new players and build a new team,” said Mohsin while talking to media reporters. “We have already taken this bold step of resting some senior players and sending some new players to the West Indies with the consultation of the captain and coach.”

The 56-year-old former batsman expressed satisfaction over the performance of youngsters in the ongoing tour of West Indies. He however, urged the players to learn how to build innings after getting starts stressing that 30s and 40s are not enough to keep a batsman going.

“I have played Test cricket and I know that if one wants to play cricket for a long time, 30s and 40s are not enough to keep you going. These new players need to learn to convert good starts into big scores,” insisted the former Test opener.

He asked the youngsters to get inspiration from legendary Pakistan batsmen like Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and learn how they used to convert good starts into big scores.

The selection committee chairman also dismissed the perception that he is a yes man to the PCB. He said that Pakistan were not the only country to have the system of paid selectors. He refused to believe that the selection decisions were not taken on merit. Mohsin further explained that all the teams had to be approved by the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Mohsin said he himself had struggled hard to earn a place in the national team and as a selection committee chief, he would never think of ignoring merit. He said that he always tried to reward the potential performers.

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Shahid Afridi terms Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq as his top skippers

Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi has termed former cricketers Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram as his top three skippers during his 15-year career.
He further termed late Bob Woolmer as the best coach he has ever played with.
“I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. Moin bhai was also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot,” Afridi said.
Describing Woolmer as the “best coach” he ever had, Afridi heaped praise on the Englishman for his outstanding ability to motivate players even in the worst of times. The captain added that Woolmer helped him a lot in boosting his confidence.
“Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn't performing, Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one's spirits didn't fall and the player wouldn't get demoralized,” added the 31-year-old captain.
The flamboyant all-rounder considered Woolmer’s era of coaching as the highlight of his cricketing career.
Afridi is the most senior player in the current Pakistan side with 320 One Day International caps. A true match-winner, Afridi is a mesmerising hitter but his inconsistency with the bat caused him to be in and out of the team over the years.
An aggressive all-rounder, Afridi was introduced to the international stage as a 16-year-old leg-spinner. He shot into prominence by hitting the fastest ODI century in his very first innings as a batsman. He also holds the record for hitting the most number of sixes in 50-over cricket. In bowling, he has taken over 300 wickets.
Afridi further revealed that he was enjoying his time as the skipper of the side. After his ICC World Cup 2011 mistakes, which cost Pakistan a chance to play in the final of the tournament, Afridi has vowed to make amends by putting up an improved performance against West Indies in the upcoming series.

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Shoaib Akhtar wants to play one final match for Pakistan

Shoaib Akhtar, world's fastest bowler, who announced retirement from all formats of international cricket after 2011 World Cup wants to one final match for Pakistan.

The fast bowler wants a proper send off on Pakistan’s tour of West Indies.

Shoaib, who is known for his acrimonious behaviour, last played for Pakistan in a match against New Zealand during the group stages of ICC 2011 World Cup.

Shoaib started off nicely in that game and was troubling opposition’s batsmen early on but once Pakistani wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal dropped two catches of his bowling he looked pretty mediocre.

Shoaib was taken apart by Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor who was dropped twice. The bowler got frustrated and was later involved in an altercation with wicket-keeper which forced the management to reprimand both cricketers. The fast bowler was penalised for US $ 2,000.

The Rawalpindi Express did not feature for Green Shirts since the confrontation. The fast bowler is of the view that he deserves a proper farewell similar to what was given to former Pakistani skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Inzamam retired from international cricket in 2007 after his side was knocked out of group stages of World Cup for the second time. Pakistan Cricket Board recalled the right-hand batsman and gave him a proper send-off by allowing him to play against South Africa at his home ground.

The PCB might not agree because it believes the cricketer lacks the fitness to last a match.

A source was quoted by a local newspaper as saying, ”He (Akhtar) is far from fit to play international cricket. And the fact that another big reason why Pakistan opted against playing him in their key World Cup games was his poor behaviour makes it almost impossible for the bowler to make a return even for one final match.”

Only time will tell whether Rawalpindi express gets a run for one last time or not. According to Waqar Younis, coach Pakistan cricket team, “Shoaib was a big name in Pakistan cricket and there is no doubt that he left an impact on the team. It is never easy to replace such players but I guess every player has to call it a day eventually.”

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