Four ‘exciting’ new openers on Ijaz Ahmed’s radar for NZ series

Islamabad, Oct.7 (ANI): Stressing on the need of giving young players more exposure at the international level, former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmad has said that four new opening batsmen have caught his attention.

Ahmad, who is a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee, said he has short listed four young openers and they would certainly be considered for the upcoming one-day series against New Zealand.

“There are 4 openers who have impressed me and my fellow selectors recently and they are Umar Amin, Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali. I feel we need to look at playing regular openers at the top of the order for the New Zealand one-day series and with a view to next years World Cup. It’s time for a fresh start at the top of the order,” Ahmad told PakPassion.net.

Commenting on the Pakistan team’s current opening batsman Imran Nazir, who struggled to score runs during the ICC Champions Trophy, Ahmad said he (Nazir) has had plenty of opportunities and it was time to give others a look in.

“I feel that Imran Nazir has had enough chances and has not made enough of those opportunities presented to him and its time to give someone else a chance,” he said.

Commenting on Pakistan’s defeat in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against New Zealand, Ahmad criticized the team management for frequently changing the batting order. He also questioned captain Younis Khan’s decision to bat first in the crucial tie.

“I simply don’t understand why Shoaib Malik was pushed to number three in the batting order and Younis decided to go in at number 4, when Malik had been performing well at number 4 earlier in the tournament. Also I was mystified as to why Younis decided to bat first in conditions that suited seam bowling and where the ball was going to move around early in the innings,”Ahmad said .(ANI)

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