Pakistan’s selectors say the team is in a transition phase and players need to show their worth.
After a disappointing tour of South Africa, which included a heavy 3-0 Test series loss, Pakistan’s selectors are looking to rebuild the side.
With cricket in Pakistan at a crisis stage, with no matches being played in the country due to security concerns, the selectors are looking for players to prove their worth to the team.
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim believes that the country is in a transition phase and they are looking to blood as many young cricketers as they can in order to build a successful side for the future.
“Most of the spots within the playing XI are not fixed and players are not doing enough to retain their place,” Qasim said to ESPNcricinfo.
“We are giving them opportunities but they have to raise the standard of their game and grab their chances.”
Qasim was quick to emphasise that why from a fan’s point of view it may seem the selectors were being inconsistent with who they picked, it was actually so as many players as possible get a chance to prove themselves.
From the tour of South Africa however only one player really walked away with any credit – Mohammad Irfan.
The towering bowler looked more than comfortable against the No.1 side in the world, but concerns have been voiced that there is not a big enough pool of quality in the mould of Irfan.
Pakistan have not been helped in their quest to build a top team in recent times after the spot-fixing controversy in 2010, when Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were banned from the game and all served prison sentences.
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