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- Oct 2, 2004
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These quotes from Wahab Riaz's presser at the time of the squad announcement for the NZ T20I series:
So Sahibzada Farhan as potential opener:
"Going forward, you will have to do experiments, and our job is to provide a team for the coach, director, and captain. Obviously, we have Sahibzada Farhan as an opener, so going forward, we will have to see what combination of teams they go with and who they prefer.”
“In the world, if you look, there are so many examples that those who are openers, they open in their own domestic team, but when they go into international teams, those people also play at number three, four, five, six, and seven as well, so this is what the criteria is. It is not necessary that if we are giving performances in domestic, and if you take out the overall domestic season, then mostly you will see all the performers as openers. Some of you will hardly see a performer at number 3 like Azam Khan, who is scoring runs. We take the example of Travis Head. We take the example of Mitchell, Marsh, or Stoinis. If we look at the English team, then you can take the example of Livingston. Phil Salt has also played below; these are the boys who open for their teams, but when they play for their international team, then they are given those roles, so now we have to give those roles to the boys. They have that capability and capacity, so we are giving these guys a chance. Now hopefully, the boys will also respond in this way so that things will be easy for them and for us too."
But are Babar and Riz out of the picture for the opening slot?
“Any player who opens in this series, and if he is not Babar or Rizwan, just in case, and he comes in and gives a good performance, it is not necessary that he will grab that place. Often in Pakistan, it happens that a player who is performing consistently, due to some illness or fitness reasons, cannot play a particular match. Then someone else comes in his place, and if he performs, we prefer him. In my opinion, the one who is a consistent performer should get that place back,"
“One example we have seen in Australia is when Mitchell Marsh scored a hundred, but Travis Head, who was in their plan and was opening earlier, played as the opener when he returned from Australia to play the first match. When a player has performed so well and you have invested so much in him, he should not be kicked out of the team or replaced because of one or two innings.”
So Sahibzada Farhan as potential opener:
"Going forward, you will have to do experiments, and our job is to provide a team for the coach, director, and captain. Obviously, we have Sahibzada Farhan as an opener, so going forward, we will have to see what combination of teams they go with and who they prefer.”
“In the world, if you look, there are so many examples that those who are openers, they open in their own domestic team, but when they go into international teams, those people also play at number three, four, five, six, and seven as well, so this is what the criteria is. It is not necessary that if we are giving performances in domestic, and if you take out the overall domestic season, then mostly you will see all the performers as openers. Some of you will hardly see a performer at number 3 like Azam Khan, who is scoring runs. We take the example of Travis Head. We take the example of Mitchell, Marsh, or Stoinis. If we look at the English team, then you can take the example of Livingston. Phil Salt has also played below; these are the boys who open for their teams, but when they play for their international team, then they are given those roles, so now we have to give those roles to the boys. They have that capability and capacity, so we are giving these guys a chance. Now hopefully, the boys will also respond in this way so that things will be easy for them and for us too."
But are Babar and Riz out of the picture for the opening slot?
“Any player who opens in this series, and if he is not Babar or Rizwan, just in case, and he comes in and gives a good performance, it is not necessary that he will grab that place. Often in Pakistan, it happens that a player who is performing consistently, due to some illness or fitness reasons, cannot play a particular match. Then someone else comes in his place, and if he performs, we prefer him. In my opinion, the one who is a consistent performer should get that place back,"
“One example we have seen in Australia is when Mitchell Marsh scored a hundred, but Travis Head, who was in their plan and was opening earlier, played as the opener when he returned from Australia to play the first match. When a player has performed so well and you have invested so much in him, he should not be kicked out of the team or replaced because of one or two innings.”
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