Inclusion of youngsters welcomed

Karachi, Feb 11: Former Pakistan cricketers on Friday welcomed sweeping changes in the cricket team stressing that it was the right time to include the youngsters.

Former captain Zaheer Abbas said the it was the ideal time for the new crop to take over from the senior players while former manager Haroon Rasheed observed that it was a very planned move by the cricket administrators.

Zaheer said: "There can't be a better time to include youngsters now after the seniors failed in Australia. The opposition is also not as tough which was an additional bonus for the youngsters."

Zaheer cited his own example. "Myself, Younis Ahmad and Nazir Junior were given Pakistan caps against New Zealand in 1969 because it was a weak team. If you have to groom youngsters, the most important thing is timing which I think is the pretty good in this particular case."

Haroon Rasheed stated that the delay in including the youngsters would have meant wasting their talent.

"All the youngsters picked in the side have performed on Pakistan wickets. Now they will be playing on the surfaces which will not be alien to them. Now it is upto them to prove if they can perform in international cricket or are only good at domestic level."

Pakistan cricket selectors on Thursday dropped Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmad, Shahid Afridi, Wajahatullah Wasti, Mohammad Wasim while Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis were not picked because of other reasons.

Zaheer said he was very optimistic that the new players would deliver the goods. He said he had been reading about the players achievements on domestic front.

"I firmly believe that they are right players and hope that they live upto our expectations," he said: adding: "They should not be chopped if they fail in a couple of games. A proper chance should be given to them to justify their selections."

Haroon Rasheed, while praising the inclusion of youngsters, said the board should stick to their decision even if the players fail.

"There should not be a somersault. If they have taken a decision, which I think is right, they should persist with it until they are convinced otherwise," he said.

He warned not to expected results from the players immediately. He said only great players score centuries on debuts while good players take their time to settle.

"Apparently the policy of the board looks that they are not only interested in victories but grooming youngsters. I think it is the right approach because if the board was afraid of losing, they would not have included youngsters," he observed.

He said in Australia most of the players appeared on a decline and if the board had stick to them again, that would have denied the youngsters who are playing well on the domestic circuit.

"It is the best time for the youngsters because all of them are in form and playing well," he said.