Mohammad Wasim Explains Why He Selected Certain Youngsters for South Africa Series

Pakistan Chief Selector, Mohammad Wasim, has revealed the reason why he picked a relatively younger squad for the upcoming South Africa series.

While speaking to a sports blog, PakPassion.net, Wasim stated that his critics are forgetting that the squad also includes players for matches against Zimbabwe. He maintained that the selectors wanted to give chances to youngsters against the weaker opponent.

I think people are forgetting that there are two tours, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Everybody is thinking that the squad is just for South Africa and is overlooking the Zimbabwe leg of the tour where we have matches as well. We want to try out these new boys like Arshad Iqbal, who has a bit of experience as he has been around for the last couple of seasons and has been bowling well not just in the PSL but also in domestic cricket.

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Commenting on the inclusion of Mohammad Wasim Jr., the chief selector admitted that he has been picked early but said that it was due to a lack of options.

Wasim comes into the all-rounder category because he can bowl his full 4 overs. We had other options like Amad Butt and Aamer Yamin, but can they be considered reliable bowlers because what we are seeing is that they are only okay bowling a couple of overs during certain points of a game.

Wasim elaborated his comments, saying that Yamin is good with the new ball but struggles with the older one. He further added that Amad is not reliable to bowl a full four-over quota, and that is where the two potential all-rounders need to work on.

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He insisted that Wasim Jr. was included as an all-rounder, not just as a fast bowler, and could be a potential replacement if the team wants to rest Faheem Ashraf.

He said that the team has only one fast-bowling all-rounder, Faheem Ashraf, and the selection committee wanted to provide a back-up in terms of Wasim Jr.

Wasim maintained that the shortest format requires energetic and young legs and that he wants to try out different combinations before finalizing a squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.