Aamir Sohail on team's debacle (4 December 1998)

4 December 1998

Aamir Sohail on team's debacle

By Our Sports Correspondent

LAHORE, Dec 3: Frequent changes in team and fitness problems of the players are the root causes of Pakistan's cricket team debacle in the current season.

This was stated by the Pakistan cricket team captain Aamir Sohail in the Face The Press Programme here on Thursday.

Aamir Sohail under whose captaincy Pakistan has lost the home Test series against Australia 1-0, after 39 years and currently one down in the Test series against Zimbabwe, said that so far he was being given teams with big changes for each match. Therefore the confidence could not be developed in players. Aamir Sohail, who has came down hard on the selection committee after losing the first Test to Zimbabwe at Peshawar, said that although the selectors had to make rapid changes due to fitness problems but on some occasions it did not deal with the affairs properly. Reiterating his stand of inducting six specialist batsmen and four fast bowlers in the Peshawar Test, Aamir Sohail said it was necessary as the wicket was a greenish one. He differed with his coach Javed Miandad who has termed Moin Khan as sixth batsman included for the Peshawar Test.

"Moin Khan is not a regular batsman. You can consider him as an all-rounder", Aamir Sohail said.

Asked what the selectors can do when the batsmen are playing reckless shots Aamir Sohail admitted and said "certainly we failed to deliver the best so far, but it all happens as the team is under pressure because of time and again the changes."

He urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to chalk out a comprehensive programme for the fitness of players.

He said, poor fielding was a chronic problem with the Pakistan team. But all these shortcomings could not be eliminated overnight and a long term programme should be implemented forthwith. He said that two more match-winning fast bowlers should be injected into the team with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. In past, fast bowlers had been helping Pakistan tovictories. He urged the PCB to establish a library, where video films of all cricketers of the world should be available. It would help to note the weak points of other players and to improve performance of thePakistani players, he said.

He denied any rift with coach Javed Miandad. The coach was doing his best possible to improve performance of the team, said Aamir Sohail.

He also negated an impression that the team has been divided into grouping.

"I am unaware about any conspiracy being hatched against my captaincy by some seniors players", Aamir Sohail said.

Sohail categorically said that he would not tender resignation from the captaincy. It was upto the PCB council to take any decision in this respect, he said. However, he asked the PCB to give the captain an effective role before finalising a team.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)