ISLAMABAD, DECEMBER 27: Taking a leaf from Australia’s successful strategy of grooming players, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed it was giving serious thought to the plan of raising separate Test and One-day squads for the coming tours.PCB’s Selection Committee chairman Wasim Bari said the idea was to form separate squads as had been done by Australia, England and South Africa with success. ‘‘We’ve players to do this experiment, which is important considering that we’ve an equal number of Test and one-day commitments leading up to the next World Cup in South Africa,’’Bari was quoted as saying by The News on Wednesday. The decision apparently follows the recent 1-0 drubbing of Pakistan at home at the hands of England which sparked stinging criticism of the captain, the team and the cricket set-up in the country. This was Pakistan’s fourth home series loss in two years. It is believed the chief selector obtained the approval for the idea at the recent Advisory Council meeting of the board at Lahore, attended also by skipper Moin Khan and coach Javed Miandad, who extended support to it. Bari said the step would benefit the players as they could adjust mentally and physically to one particular style of game. ‘‘Australia has carried out the experiment successfully. Michael Bevan and Michael Slater are two very good examples of one-day and Test players.’’ Clarifying that separate teams did not imply two totally different playing elevens, Bari said, ‘‘The core of both teams comprises five-six players who are good enough for both forms of games. But you groom a few players, keeping in mind your particular needs at both levels to form a balanced and strong outfit.’’ There is a general opinion among followers of the game here that players like Imran Nazir, Azhar Mahmood and Shahid Afridi are more suited to the limited overs version of the game while Mohammad Wasim and Wajahtullah Wasti are better bets for Tests. An indicator to a change in the existing set-up was given last week when PCB chief Lt General Tauqir Zia told reporters that after loss to England - “A second-rated team, Pakistan have become a third-rated team and we now have to do a lot of spade work to bring the team back on track.’’ Zia commended the ACB and said, it ‘‘is ideally organised and that’s why their team has been having an imperious run with 13 straight wins in Tests.’’
