Shabbir, Sami leave selectors red faced

The "dummy" Pakistan cricket selectors were left red faced when pacemen Mohammad Sami and Shabbir Ahmad were ruled out of action for at least two weeks even before the camp started at the National Stadium.

While Sami is still nursing half a dozen stress fractures, an injury which sidelined super-fit Imran Khan for 18 months, Shabbir is down with groin injury. Team manager Yawar Saeed confirmed that the boys were unlikely to join the camp trainees for another two weeks.

"They will have to appear before panel of doctors who will judge their fitness before they are allowed to attend camp. There will be no compromise on fitness," Yawar told reporters Monday. The injuries to the two pacers are not new, but could be a news for the bungling selection committee headed by Wasim Bari which picks players without going to the field or unearthing facts.

Such is the approach of the paid selection committee that none of its member was present at the National Stadium where the preparations for a back-breaking season got under way today. It is anybody's guess what feedback the selectors will pass on to the highest authorities or take with them while finalizing squads when they themselves will be short of first hand information.

Wasim Bari and company should consider themselves lucky to be working in conditions where there is no accountability but abundance of valuable funds to waste on them. Yawar, when pointed on the shortage of experienced fast bowlers, cautiously said it was upto the selectors to decide whether they wanted to add reinforcements. Of the remaining fast bowlers, in-and-out Mohammad Akram, injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar are expected to join the camp next week.

He also refused to comment on other selectorial decisions revolving around the unceremonious exit of senior players. But when pressed, he said he was satisfied with the pool of players given to him by the selectors.

Only 15 players out of 27 attended the training camp on the opening day which didn't have a scheduled fielding session in the morning. Yawar said the boys instead had a detailed discussion with him regarding what was expected of them and how the camp would progress. However, Yawar said the strength of the camp would increase by the end of the week when some of the players would return from England.

Those who attended the camp were: Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria, Imran Nazir, Hasan Raza, Azhar Mahmood, Faisal Iqbal, Irfan Fazil, Imran Farhat, Yasir Arafat, Taufeeq Umer.

Yet to report are: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdur Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammad Akram, Atiq-uz-Zaman, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmad, Naved Latif, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Fazle Akbar.