Lahore (Online): Pakistan cricket team chief selector Inzamamul Haq believes Umar Gul\u2019s fitness and experience helped him earn a position in the 15-man ODI squad against Ireland and England, a sports website reported on Friday. \u201cIt is my belief that our fast-bowling attack needs the backing of some solid experience,\u201d said Inzamam. \u201cThere is no substitute for game experience and in that regard Gul\u2019s inclusion makes a lot of sense.\u201d
\n\u201cApart from his experience of bowling in tight situations against top quality opposition teams and a good track record, I was also encouraged by the thought of the selectors who felt that Gul was extremely fit which is a key requirement for the ODI format,\u201d he added.
\nThe inclusion of 22-year-old fast-bowler Hasan Ali was also welcomed by the people who want youngsters to be given a go in the main team and Inzamam thinks he is a great prospect for the future of Pakistan cricket. \u201cWe have included some young players like Hasan Ali to build the team for the future, and in that regard I would like to say that he is a great prospect,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cHis performance for Pakistan A in the recently concluded tour of England, where he took 20 wickets, was outstanding and so we have rewarded him with a place in the ODI squad.\u201d
\nConversely, left-arm pacer Junaid Khan was not happy with his exclusion from the ODI squad for the two-match series against Ireland and five-ODI series against England. He took to social media after the team was announced to ask the reason for his omission and stated that he had ignored lucrative county contracts just to represent his country. Inzamam, however, showed maturity and said that Junaid should learn the art of patience from Gul.
\n\u201cJunaid should not feel disheartened and continue the hard work that he has been doing so far,\u201d said the former Test captain. \u201cThat is the only yardstick for the selection of any player. If he needs an example of this idea put to practice, then he should look no further than Gul who will now be making a return to the ODI squad after an absence of almost a year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lahore (Online): Pakistan cricket team chief selector Inzamamul Haq believes Umar Gul\u2019s fitness and experience helped him earn a position in the 15-man ODI squad against Ireland and England, a sports website reported on Friday. \u201cIt is my belief that our fast-bowling attack needs the backing of some solid experience,\u201d said Inzamam. \u201cThere is no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n