Miandad to play if youngsters fail (3 November 1998)

3 November 1998

Miandad to play if youngsters fail

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, Nov 2: Pakistan coach Javed Miandad said he was ready to take a fresh guard but only after the youngsters failed to cement their places in the national team.

"I am not keen to play immediately. But I don't rule out the possibility of staging a comeback. However, that would only be possible if the youngsters failed to justify their mettle at international level," Miandad said from Lahore.

Miandad, who represented Pakistan in 124 Tests including 34 as captain, said in the coming international matches the new players would get chances. "Now its upto them to show what they have.

"If I had been interested in playing, I would have played in the third Test against Australia when Inzamam-ul-Haq was injured and we had no replacement. But I am not very keen. But if the players don't justify their potential, well, then there will be no other option left but to return to the national team," Miandad, who last played a Test in 1993-94, said.

Miandad said his priority was to prepare a team for next year's World Cup "and for that we want to give maximum opportunity to the new players."

Miandad, Pakistan's leading Test and one-day run-getter with 8,832 and 7,381 runs, hoped that his team was capable of bouncing back against Australia after defeat in the Test series and in Dhaka.

"We will be fielding new players so the pressure would definitely be there. But we will put our best to salvage some pride."

He defended his decision of changing the batting order. "We didn't lose because of changes in the batting order. After Shahid Afridi got out early, we promoted Azhar Mahmood in the order. Had the batting order been the reason, the margin would have been over 100 runs and not 30."

"But I have drawn a line and I am not ready to compromise. Only the fit players will play no matter how important they are," he said.

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