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Karachi: Former chief selector Abdul Qadir has criticised the new selection panel and the Cricket Board (PCB) for ignoring experienced opener Salman Butt and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from Pakistan's 15-member squad for next month's Champions Trophy in South Africa.
Qadir said the selectors have made a mistake by dropping Butt and Razzaq who would have been effective in South African conditions.
"I don't know in what direction this present cricket board is taking Pakistan cricket into. There is no consistency in selection at all. Butt is your most experienced opener with an average of close to 40 in Tests and One-Day Internationals," he said.
"Yet the selectors have ignored him for such a big tournament and instead opted for only one specialist opener in Imran Nazir," he noted.
The former leg-spinner said he was also surprised at the exclusion of Razzaq.
"If the board and selectors didn't want to pick Razzaq for a major tournament like the Champions Trophy then why send him to Sri Lanka or England for the T20 World Cup in the first place," Qadir lamented.
Qadir also questioned the selection of dope-tainted pacer Mohammad Asif in the Champions Trophy squad.
"I don't understand what was the hurry of picking Asif when he has not played for over a year. The pace department is already strong with Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar and Rana Naved bowling well. So what was the hurry in rushing Asif into the main fray," he asked.
Qadir noted that Asif remained a key bowler for Pakistan and it would have been better for the selectors to ease him back into the national team by giving him time to regain confidence, form and fitness at the domestic level.
"By rushing him into the team, the selectors have put his career at stake and if he breaks down in the Champions Trophy the board will be responsible for this," he added.
The former chief selector, who resigned in June due to differences with the PCB, said he hoped Pakistan would do well in the Champions Trophy but feared that faulty selections and poor administrative decisions of the board could affect the performance of the side in the eight-nation tournament.
