Justifying the left-arm spinner, Raza Hasan’s selection, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB’s) chief selector, Iqbal Qasim, expressed that the youngster is equally good in comparison with Abdur Rehman, and said that he has been preferred because of his performances in the domestic arena.
The 20-year-old has been a part of the national squad many times in the past, without getting an opportunity to showcase his skills at the highest level of the game.
After an impressive performance in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2010, held in New Zealand, the Sialkot-born cricketer replaced Danish Kaneria in Pakistan’s squad during the tour of England in 2010.
Having performed consistently in national cricket, Hasan was picked for the T20 portion of the Sri Lankan tour last month, but failed to break into the playing-11 once again.
However, PCB announced the 15-man team for the three-match T20 series against Australia and the ICC World T20 2012, showing faith on Raza’s abilities once again, preferring him over Abdur Rehman, the seasoned spinner. Qasim, while speaking to Pakpassion, expressed that the youngster matches Abdur Rehman’s ability, although Raza is not experienced in international cricket.
The former cricketer from Karachi, who himself was a left-arm spinner in his playing days, admitted that he is extremely impressed by the young cricketer’s ability to handle pressure situations. The chief selector said, “The reason is that Raza Hasan is an equally good bowler in this format. We have seen him bowl in T20s in domestic cricket and he bowls very well and controls his nerves. I have never seen him panic when bowling even in the death overs.” While talking about Nasir Jamshed’s comeback, Qasim expressed that the left-handed opener has been doing brilliantly in the first-class cricket and also did well in the Asia Cup 2012, so there was no question about his place in the team.
“Unfortunately he was not match-fit to play in that series, but now that he is fit again, I had to give him preference,” the chief selector added. “Last time he was selected it was based on his domestic performance and his performance in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In T20s it is important to look at form.”
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