Former Pakistan leg-spinner and chief selector Abdul Qadir launched a scathing attack on Pakistan management and head coach Mickey Arthur in particular for its selection policies, calling the South African an “incompetent white man”.
Pakistan picked five uncapped players for the Test tour of England, overlooking batsman Fawad Alam who has been prolific in first-class cricket for years. There was no place for veteran left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz as well, whose work ethic was criticised by Arthur.
Speaking to Geo TV, Qadir launched a tirade against Arthur, saying: “You have handed over the reins to an incompetent white man who has not played Test cricket himself.
“Who is Mickey Arthur? He is someone who was kicked out by South Africa and Australia. Mickey Arthur is the one who ruined Shane Watson’s cricket. Ruined the cricket of Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal. Now he is after Wahab Riaz.
“If you hire such incompetent people… they are playing with our cricket. They are mistreating our star players. And those who perform in domestic cricket are not getting picked.”
Qadir, however, did not dwell much upon the limited overs performance of Pakistan under Arthur. The Men in Green are the No1 T20 side in the world and holders of the Champions Trophy.
But the legendary leg-spinner said while Pakistan’s performance in white ball cricket is praiseworthy, the state of Test cricket is not good following a ‘home’ series defeat to Sri Lanka. Pakistan are currently ranked seventh in Test cricket.
“Looks like we are making Test team from T20s. It’s unfortunate. Then might as well end the (domestic) Quaid-e-Azam trophy,” he added.
“The sent players to T10 League (in UAE). They took those players out of first-class cricket and took $400,000 for it. So what is left? What will youngsters learn? Test cricket is at the bottom. I praise the performance in T20s. But if you start making Test teams out of T20 cricket, it’s not right.”
Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq had earlier stated that the Test team for the tour of England was picked keeping next year’s World Cup in mind.
