Mohsin: team to UAE had to be picked at short notice

Pakistan's chief selector defends the squads picked for the tour of the UAE in the wake of criticism from the head coach and the limited overs' captain.

Shahid Afridi, left, has been critical of the selection policies of Mohsin Khan, right.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan's chief selector, has defended the squads picked for the tour of the UAE in the wake of criticism from the head coach and the limited overs' captain.

Waqar Younis, the coach, and Shahid Afridi, the captain of the one-day international and Twenty20 teams, have complained about the lack of consultation when the squads for the nine-match series against South Africa were announced.

"Let me clarify that it is not written down in the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] constitution that the coach and captain must have a say in the selection of any squad," Mohsin told Pakpassion.net. "My selection committee and I were asked by the PCB management to select squads for the series against South Africa, so we did that.

"We were asked by the PCB management to select a squad at short notice, because of the logistics of the series in the UAE and the travel arrangements of the team had to be sorted out very quickly."

The selection of Misbah-Ul-Haq as Test captain was particularly controversial. The 36-year-old has played only 19 Test matches and has not featured for his country since January.

"Regarding the matter of the captain not being announced before the squad was announced, that is something for the PCB management to answer and does not fall under my domain," Mohsin said. "I always prefer if the coach and captain has a say in the selection of any squad and it is always my request to the PCB management to take on board the views of the coach and captain.

"However let me clarify, the captain was not announced by the PCB management and Waqar Younis was not in the country."

The squads for the two Twenty20 internationals, five ODI and two Test matches were announced before the start of the Faysal Bank Cup competition, the domestic Twenty20 tournament. Mohsin disagreed with claims that the early announcement of the tour party denied players the chance to stake a claim for a place in the squad by performing well in the cup.

"I don't agree that the tournament has been devalued by the timing of the squad announcement," Mohsin said. "The players who are doing well in the Faysal Bank Cup will no doubt be in the selectors minds for future Twenty20 matches and competitions for Pakistan and we will monitor the progress of those players.

"The team that is going to the UAE is not a Twenty20 team; there are Test matches, five one-day internationals and only two Twenty20 matches. The Twenty20 matches did not dominate our selection."

Mohsin said the series in the UAE provides an opportunity to move on from the "dirty stuff" that happened in England and that Pakistan "have the talent and are good enough to beat any team, anywhere in the world".