| Player: | Abdul Qadir, Salman Butt, Abdul Razzaq |
| Event: | ICC Champions Trophy 2009/10 |
DateLine: 26th August 2009
Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir has criticised the new selection panel and PCB for ignoring Salman Butt and Abdul Razzaq.
Qadir blamed the selectors and said they have made a mistake by dropping Butt and Razzaq from Pakistan's 15-member squad for next month's Champions Trophy in South Africa and that they would have been effective in those conditions.
"I don't know in what direction this present cricket board is taking Pakistan cricket into. There is no consistency in selection at all. Butt is your most experienced opener with an average of close to 40 in Tests and one-day internationals," Qadir said.
"Yet the selectors have ignored him for such a big tournament and instead opted for only one specialist opener in Imran Nazir."
"If the board and selectors didn't want to pick Razzaq for a major tournament like the Champions Trophy then why send him to Sri Lanka or England for the T20 World Cup in the first place," Qadir lamented.
Qadir questioned the selection of dope-tainted pacer Mohammad Asif in the Champions Trophy squad.
"I don't understand what was the hurry of picking Asif when he has not played cricket for over a year. The pace department is already strong with Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar and Rana Naved bowling well . So what was the hurry in rushing Asif into the main fray," he asked.
The former chief selector, who resigned in June due to differences with the PCB, said he hoped Pakistan would do well in the Champions Trophy but feared that faulty selections and poor administrative decisions of the board could affect the performance of the side in the eight-nation tournament.
