Junaid Khan should not feel disheartened and continue the hard-work: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq spoke about the One Day International (ODI) squad selected for the series against England, as he said that the left-arm pacer Junaid Khan should not get disheartened and should continue his hard-work.

Junaid was left out of the squad but surprisingly Umar Gul made his way back to the side. Following his exclusion, Junaid had said that he is now considering a move to England in order to further his international career. He took on Twitter to express his disappointment on being excluded despite being fit for the selection.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Inzamam-ul-Haq said, “Let me say that Junaid Khan is an extremely talented bowler as his past record clearly suggests, but as a chief selector, I cannot guarantee the selection of players without consulting my colleagues and making a judgement on the suitability of a player.”

“If Junaid Khan had some county contracts lined up from before, then I wouldn’t have taken that into consideration, as I am afraid it would not be possible for me to decide the composition of the team before taking into account the performances of other players as well,” he added.

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Inzamam also pointed out that there is nothing to be disappointed about as there is always scope for a comeback. He asked him to consider Umar Gul’s comeback for the series as an example.

“Junaid should not feel disheartened and continue the hard work that he has been doing so far. That is the only yardstick for the selection of any player. If he needs an example of this idea put to practice, then he should look no further than Umar Gul who will now be making a return to the ODI squad after an absence of almost a year,” he opinioned.

Hasan Ali is the only new face who made it to the ODI squad on the back of consistent performances in the domestic circuit and also in the recent Pakistan A tour of England. “We have included some young players like Hasan Ali to build the team for the future, and in that regard, I would like to say that he is a great prospect. His performance for Pakistan A in the recently concluded tour of England, where he took twenty wickets, was outstanding and so we have rewarded him with a place in the ODI squad.”

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The selection panel has also gone for experience, which is the reason why the yorker specialist Umar Gul made himself into the squad. “It is my belief that our fast-bowling attack needs the backing of some solid experience. There is no substitute for game experience and in that regard, Umar Gul’s inclusion makes a lot of sense.”

“Apart from his experience of bowling in tight situations against top quality opposition teams, and with a good track record to boot, I was also encouraged by the thoughts of the selectors who felt that Gul was extremely fit which is a key requirement for the ODI format,” he concluded.