Lahore, January 08: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has called for a different Twenty20 team and claims that unless the change is made, the national team’s future looks bleak in Tests.
Alam has asked the Pakistan cricket administrators to form a separate team for Twenty20 internationals, which should be kept away from Test and ODI squads.
”If you play too much Twenty20 cricket then it becomes almost impossible for you to have the sort of patience and temperament that you need to shine in Test matches,” Alam said. ”In Twenty20 cricket all you have to do is to hit the ball out of the park. But in test matches, it is all about staying on the wicket. It is hard work and needs a lot of character,” the former Pakistan captain added.
After the loss in first Test against Australia, Pakistan came very close to a win in the second Test in Sydney but squandered a 206-run first innings lead to lose the match by 36 runs.
The performance Down Under has drawn a lot of flak for both Alam and captain Mohammad Yousuf, and the former claims that Pakistan needs world-class batsmen to overcome team like Australia.
”You can’t go out and beat top teams like Australia when you don’t have any world class batsmen in your team.
”There is Yousuf but he is already 35 and does not have much time left in international cricket. Apart from him, there is nobody who can claim to be a world class batsman,” Alam was quoted as saying by The News.
A number of Pakistani players came for criticism from Alam, who said Misbah-ul-Haq is unlikely to keep his place in the third Test following a poor show in the last two matches.
He also expressed his displeasure over the way spinner Danish Kaneria bowled in the second Test and claimed the leg-spinner lacks what it takes to be a great bowler.
”He (Kaneria) has taken 250 wickets but he still can’t read a situation accurately and bowl accordingly,” he said.
——-Agencies