Mohsin praises Pakistan performance

Mohsin Khan, the Pakistan chief selector, has said picking a young team for the Zimbabwe series will help in planning for the contest against Sri Lanka in the UAE next month.

Mohsin had been criticised for selecting an inexperienced side to tour Zimbabwe - in the only Test, of their three fast bowlers two were debutants and the other had played only one match - but Pakistan ended up winning the Test and sweeping the one-dayers.

"As a whole, the team performance is very satisfactory and even though Zimbabwe was not a weak opposition, our boys played well and won every game," Mohsin told theDawn on Thursday. The tour ends with two Twenty20 matches, one on Friday and the other on Sunday.

Several of the new players picked and those recalled for the series, such as fast bowler Aizaz Cheema and opening batsman Imran Farhat, have performed reasonably well. "This tour of Zimbabwe will help us a lot in putting together a solid combination for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, which is one of the best teams in the world," Mohsin said. However, the final call on the squad for the UAE will be made with the region's playing conditions in mind. "Since the Sri Lankan series will be played in the UAE where the conditions are different, we will make the combination accordingly."

Pakistan face Sri Lanka in three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 in a series that starts on October 18.