By IANS,
Karachi : Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi feels they need to ignore “average” cricketers to build a formidable Test side.
The all-rounder said while Pakistan is on track in one-day and Twenty20 formats, it will take a mammoth effort from them to form a good Test team.
“Our biggest challenge is to prepare a Test team that is capable of doing well in what I believe is by far the most difficult of all three formats,” Afridi was quoted as saying in The News Wednesday.
“We haven’t done well in Test cricket in recent years because mostly we have tried to rely on average players.
“Sometimes we have even persisted with below-average cricketers. You can’t do that. You have to somehow find classy players and then groom them into world class cricketers because you can’t make a good Test team with average cricketers,” said Afridi, who has returned from a Test exile to lead Pakistan in a two-match series against Australia that got underway at Lord’s Tuesday.
Afridi feels Pakistan have a good bowling attack but needs world class batsmen to become a stronger team in Tests.
“For several years, we have persisted with batsmen whose average is 30 or even below. We can’t do that any more. We need more prolific batsmen.”
Pakistani selectors came under fire for ignoring a number of experienced batsmen for the tough England tour and instead opted for a couple of unheralded youngsters. The inclusion of Umar Amin and Azhar Ali, who made their Test debut at Lord’s Tuesday, has raised questions.
Afridi, 30, however, insisted that Pakistan’s future in the Tests depends on youngsters like Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer.
“If we want to make a reliable Test team then we will have to pump in young blood. Players like Umar Amin are very talented and can become match-winning players,” he said.
“Umar and Aamer have become integral part of our team within a short span of time which shows that we need youngsters.”
The seasoned all-rounder said under him Pakistan will continue to try out promising rookies until they manage to form a balanced Test combination.