da betano casino： The chairman of Pakistan cricket selectors Wasim Bari refused to sharethe blame for his team’s eight-wicket drubbing against Sri Lanka inthe Asian Test Championship final
da betsul： 15-Mar-2002The chairman of Pakistan cricket selectors Wasim Bari refused to sharethe blame for his team’s eight-wicket drubbing against Sri Lanka inthe Asian Test Championship final.The former Test wicket-keeper stressed his committee had picked thebest available 14 and left it upto the captain and the coach tofinalize the starting lineup.”The decision of playing or not playing Saqlain Mushtaq was entirelythe decision of team management. We named Saqlain in the 14 because wethought he was good and deserved a place,” he said, adding: “You areasking the wrong person reasons to omit Saqlain.”Pakistan were thoroughly thrashed by the Sri Lankans who dismissed thehome team for 234 and posted 528 in their turn. Had 328 minutes notwasted on the fourth day, the game would not have gone into the finalday.Bari, facing a barrage of questions, said his committee had pickedSaqlain as the only specialist spinner. But when asked in whatcapacity Shoaib Malik had been played, he said: “You should ask thecaptain or the coach. We selected Saqlain as the only specialistspinner while Shoaib was included in the 14 because of his previousmatch performance.”Shoaib had scored a century in the second One-day Internationalagainst the West Indies at Sharjah. He was preferred over Saqlain forthe Asian final that triggered a controversy.Bari also defended his panel’s decision to overlook Wasim Akram. Hesaid there was enough doubt in the selectors’ mind that the lefthander lacked fitness. “He hadn’t played enough cricket lately. But Imust stress here that Wasim is an integral component of our World Cupsquad.”To a question how Wasim will force his way in the Test squad asPakistan is to play at least seven One-day Internationals beforetaking on New Zealand in the first Test at Lahore from May 1, Barisaid: “I think he would have played enough cricket by then to confirmhis fitness.”Bari rested all the blame on the team for a poor performance at thecricket headquarters in Lahore. “If you score 234, then allow theopponents to score 528 aided by five spilled catches, you are alwayson the defensive. But as regards the 14 we picked, I think they werethe best.”There can be a difference of opinion on who should have played andagainst whom. But that’s for the team management to decide and ask.It’s not our cup of tea which team takes the field,” Bari said.Bari’s selected teams have lost the home series’ against Australia,Zimbabwe, England and now the Asian Test Championship final. But thestar wicket-keeper of yesteryears believes the defeats had more to dowith rifts and poor performances of the team than poor selection.”We lost to Australia and Zimbabwe because the captain [Aamir Sohail]and coach [Javed Miandad] were not on talking terms. There weredifferences between the two.”Against England, there was a batting collapse in the second inningsand then five catches were dropped. Similar was the case in the Asianfinal. I don’t think its because of poor selection that the teamslost,” he reiterated.The chief selector said the captain and the coach were given theoption of naming the starting lineup of their own choice because therewere grievances of the captains in the past that the players of theirliking were not being given a chance to play.Now there is criticism that the captain and the selector are notpicking the right players. I understand that there is personalityclash and egos involved [while the starting lineup is picked]. Butthat’s in our society,”I still believe that the captain should be given the powers to play ateam of his choice since he has a game-plan. What’s the point ofimposing a player on whom the captain has no confidence.”
