Islamabad
Former Pakistan cricketer, Haroon Rashid, was concerned about Pakistan’s preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup in India, later this year, saying the team management, selection committee and captain should be on the same page for the extravaganza.
“The problem I see at the moment is that the nucleus, 15-20 players, for the World Cup has not been formed.
The team management, selection committee and captain should be on the same page, especially considering that there are only a handful of matches left before the World Cup. For instance, Asif Ali plays one match and then he is dropped.
Also, we are not sure about how to use Sharjeel Khan and there are also concerns about his fitness,” cricketpakistan.com.pk quoted him as saying.
Haroon believes the changes made to the domestic cricket structure in the country was the need of the hour.
He said that middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq’s exclusion from the national side highlights what was wrong with the previous system.
“If you want to assess my performance, then one should check the results of the tasks I was given.
Did Pakistan get players when I was the junior team selector or the U16 youth program that I initiated? I also worked as the head of domestic cricket where we learned that the current system is not in line with international requirements.
If a player like Asad Shafiq plays 70 Test matches and is still not able to secure his place in the national side then it is clear that something is wrong with our system,” said Rashid.
“At one point, we witnessed four innings being finished inside a day during inter-district club matches.
Teams just weren’t equipped to play more than 35-40 overs. These are the realities people don’t know.
It is easy to get emotional and criticise but I’m satisfied with the work I have done for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
Rashid also opened up about the work done with the task force responsible for the implementation of the new domestic cricket structure and the availability of jobs in the future.
“If you remember, a task force was formed to identify the weaknesses in Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure.
I was also a part of it along with representatives from departments and associations.—AP
