Wanted: Quality batsmen for the Pakistan national cricket team

2. Flawed Selection Policies

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is no stranger to controversial moves and strange selection policies. First, they dropped all-rounders Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq from the CT squad in addition to Younus and Yousuf. But the team’s dismal showing in England has prompted the powers-that-be to re-consider their decision. In addition, talented youngsters like Ahmed Shehzad and Hammad Azam were overlooked in favour of Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq respectively. While Shafiq has done decently in the Champions Trophy and in other matches whenever he’s got a chance, he hasn’t quite converted his starts into substantial scores. The selectors had a great chance to bring back veteran opener Yasir Hameed, as he had been in excellent form at the domestic level and would have been a better choice than Kamran Akmal as opener. Hameed’s game is built on timing and elegance, and he has also shown the ability to graft runs when needed. When you pick a squad, the emphasis has to be on the bigger picture instead of individual departments such as bowling or batting. Sadly, the PCB seems to have forgotten how to do that.