Pakistan to work on a winning combination during New Zealand tour: Intikhab Alam
On the eve of national team’s departure to New Zealand, the team manager Intikhab Alam has said that the series will give an opportunity to the team in testing different combinations before the World Cup.
He said, “Although the pitches in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 and the sub-continent, where we play the World Cup, are different, a six-match one-day series at the end of the tour will help us build a combination and overcome our shortcomings.”
Intikhab, however, refused the notion of running over the Kiwis due to the fact that the black caps have had some terrible outings in the recent months where they were whitewashed against Bangladesh and India. He said, “It is true that New Zealand were blanked
in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (5-0) in the one-day series and would be low on confidence, but they will be playing on home ground and would be tough to beat. The six one-day internationals give us a chance to use a few combinations and get settled before
the World Cup.”
Pakistan has never had a good record while playing in New Zealand, which puts more pressure on them to prove that they have the capability to play and win without the presence of ace pacers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who are awaiting their spot-fixing
hearing by the International Cricket Council set to begin next month.
The absence of these two pacers will give Pakistan management a chance to test some young talent in the bowling department, while pros such as Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq will have an opportunity to test their match fitness.
Pakistan are undergoing a major reconstruction phase owing to the suspension of three main players (Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif) for allegedly being involved in spot-fixing while there are further four players who have still not been cleared
by the International Cricket Council (ICC) because the cricket’s governing body suspects their involvement in match-fixing as well. These four players include Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314 and Rana Naved.
However, the ICC has not filed any charges nor submitted any proof against these four players yet. The PCB has not been given a green signal to select them for national duty. Because of this fact there are voices coming from different quarters to either
charge the four players or clear them so that the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board (PCB) can pick them for the World Cup squad which will eliminate the looming uncertainty in the country’s cricket.
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