Highlights Of Inzamam-ul-Haq’s Tenure As Chief Selector

Here is a look at highlights from Inzamam-ul-Haq’s tenure as chief selector, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after he announced his resignation from the post yesterday.

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Deserves Credit For Pakistan’s Revival In Limited Overs Cricket

Pakistan were ranked ninth in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and were coming off an embarrassing World T20 tournament when Inzamam took over as the chief selector of Pakistan. The green shirts have come a long way ever since. They won the 2017 edition of ICC Champion’s Trophy; they are now the world’s number one T20 side and only missed out on a world cup semi-final qualification by embarrassing margins. Thus, Inzi for sure deserves credit for Pakistan’s revival in the limited overs format.

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Did A Fine Job Introducing Youngsters

Careers of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohd. Rizwan, Mohd. Abbas, Shadab Khan, Imam-ul-Haq, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Shinwari etc. truly took off during Inzi’s tenure. Moreover, even the likes of Abid Ali and Mohd. Hasnain made their international debuts while Inzamam was the chief selector. Therefore, it is fair to say that he has done a fine job introducing young cricketers who have in them the ability to serve Pakistan for a decent period of time.  

Was Wrongly Blamed For Nepotism  

Inzamam lost credibility in front of a lot of people in Pakistan following his decision to select his nephew Imam-ul-Haq. To be fair the young upper order batsman has scored a number of centuries (even against difficult oppositions like England and South Africa) and in all kinds of conditions ever since his debut. Moreover, he has scored his runs at a decent strike rate and in ODIs bats at a phenomenal average of 54.58. Thus, it is just fair to say that nepotism charges against him are only in place because Imam-ul-Haq despite being a good performer is not the big-hitter Pakistani media and public could have resonated with.

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Poor Selection Policies At Test Level

Inzamam’s selection policies at the Test level left the critics stunned. Pakistan’s over-all performance in the format (even when Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan were still playing) has been nothing much to talk home about. The chief selector could neither provide a worthy fast bowler other than Mohd. Abbas nor could he come up with a reliable back up for Yasir Shah. Additionally, his decision of not picking deserving cricketers like Abid Ali and Fawad Alam was mind boggling to say the least. Therefore, it is no surprise that he received criticism for his poor selection policies at Test level from different quarters.

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Deserves Blame For Destroying Fawad Alam’s Career

Inzamam most definitely deserves the blame for literally destroying the career of middle-order batsman Fawad Alam. He is still yet to provide a rational explanation that led to the left-arm batsman’s exclusion particularly, at the Test level where he really deserved to play following the exit of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan.

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Poor Selection Decisions Towards The End

Inzamam and Mickey Arthur’s decision to rest key cricketers for the series against Australia earlier this year received a lot of stick. Pakistan lost the 5 match ODI series 5-0 and took a long time to recover from the setback and regroup as a unit – something that played a major part in Pakistan’s early exit from the world cup.

Thus, it is just fair to say that former captain could not end his career on a high and that Inzamam-ul-Haq’s tenure as chief selector saw mixed results.