New Delhi: Former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq will pilot Pakistan Cricket Board’s scouting programme to unearth fresh talent for the national T20 squad. Titled Strike Force, the programme aims to bring hidden talent to the fore from in a format vastly popular all over the country.
Initially Razzaq will identify and shortlist 50 players who have potential to play for the national team in the future. The PCB has opted for a nation-wide scouting programme after the national team’s struggles in the T20 format in recent times.
“We have been struggling in T20 cricket for a while and the idea is that with so much T20 cricket being played in the country, and Razzaq himself being a class hitter and all-rounder, can unearth some unknown talent,” a PCB official told PTI.
Pakistan rooted at eighth spot in T20 rankings
Pakistan have failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup that was held in the Caribbean earlier in the year. They have also changed the skipper multiple times with the responsibility changing from Babar Azam to Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Currently Mohammed Rizwan is leading the T20 team that is placed in the eighth spot in the ICC T20 rankings, having lost a series T20 series in Australia and South Africa recently, apart from losing a match to lowly Zimbabwe.
The PCB hopes to find fresh faces from tape Tennis ball cricket that is widely popular in Pakistan in which several unknown players command a good price to appear in local tournaments for their big-hitting ability.
“Pakistan is clearly lagging behind other countries when it comes to hitting sixes and fours and unconventional strokes and the idea is some of those players who are limited to playing in local events can be good enough to play in international cricket,” the PCB official added.
Razzaq has been a top all-rounder for the national team and was a national selector recently.
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