Date-stamped : 15 Jun97 - 14:17
14 June 1997

Hasib unhappy with ouster of Shadab Kabir

By Our Sports Reporter KARACHI, June 13: Former Chairman of
Selectors, Hasib Ahsan, on Friday opined that whatever talent
was left in the country, it was being destroyed by the present
selection committee.

"I am not at all pleased with the selection of the Pakistan
Youth side which to my surprise does not include the names of
Shadab Kabir and former captain Ahmar Saeed. "Shadab Kabir has
all the talent and potential in the world to become a good and
attractive opener. But because of the inconsistent policies of
the selection committee, he is being sidelined," Hasib Ahsan, a
former Chairman of Selectors, said. Ahsan observed that Kabir
had a successful tour of South Africa with the Under-19 side.
"If you have to groom a player, you have to give him more
confidence rather than keep shattering it because of strange
policies. "The selection committee has also rejected the
decision of the former panel which had picked the left-hander
for the England tour with the Pakistan senior team last summer,"
Ahsan added.

Ahsan emphasised that Shadab Kabir was just 19 years old and if
a little more concentration and investment had been done on him,
he would have transformed into a very refined stroke-maker.
"Kabir was worth making an investment."

Ahsan said there was no comparison at all between Salim Elahi
and Shadab Kabir. "Salim Elahi has proved that he cannot perform
at top level cricket. He was a failure in Australia and then in
Sri Lanka. He is a tried horse but the selectors still believe
that he can deliver the goods.

"Shadab Kabir, on the contrary, played in the two Tests in
England and looked good," Ahsan said. Ahsan also lamented the
ouster of former captain Ahmar Saeed. "I don't think this is the
way to treat a former captain whose performance, interestingly,
had been good in the previous three series'.

"The selectors also didn't have had guts to explain why Ahmar
was not considered for selection. The 2-0 win over South Africa
a few months away speaks volumes of his leadership skills and
extracting the best out of his players. His individual
performance also had been good," Ahsan stated.

Hasib Ahsan also observed that in a field on young cricketer,
26-year-old Mujahid Jamsheed was a misfit. "If he has not been
able to make into the senior team now, how can he claim a place
after the England tour?

"Rana Qayyumul Hasan and Ali Naqvi have been picked on the
performance of Grade Two. It is a hidden secret that Grade Two
cricket is the worst type of cricket. The oppositions are weak
and most of the matches fixed. "If the selectors have picked up
the two, Mirpurkhas also had a claim because it was the champion
team of the Under-19 Grade Two. Strangely, none of its players
were invited to attend the trials," he added. Ahsan was of the
view that the selectors should have picked 16 players "because
the conditions in England are tough and there were chances of
more injuries. I personally feel, the 16th player should have
been a batsman and Shadab Kabir was the best choice."

Ahsan repeated his claims for an early settling of the World Cup
accounts. "The accounts were supposed to be made public in 90
days but more than 16 months have passed and nothing has come
out. "I think it is a lame excuse that Pakistan Tobacco Company
(PTI), who were the sponsors of the extravaganza, have gone
bankrupt. They are still in business in other fields like cars
manufacturing etc.

"It is strange that the Treasurer of the PILCOM were Pakistanis
(Arif Abbasi and now Majid Khan) but still the money is not with
Pakistan. "Besides the World Cup accounts, the PCB has still not
revealed their accounts," Ahsan said.

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

<END> Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)