Waqar wants Pakistan policy to stop players from abruptly quitting Test format

Lahore: Bowling coach Waqar Younis wants Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to formulate a policy to stop players from abruptly dropping the Test format, the former captain said on Monday.

Experienced quicks Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz quit Test cricket last year to focus on the short formats and Pakistan’s bowling frailties were subsequently exposed in Australia where they lost both the Test and Twenty20 series.

“Of course you can’t stop anyone or force anyone. But there should be a policy by the board,” Waqar said in a video conference with reporters.

“If a star player suddenly leaves, or drops a format, it’s a massive setback for the team. You’re forced to fast-track rookies, which is a big problem and we faced it in absence of Amir and Wahab.

“I’m not saying we’d have won in Australia with them, but we could have done better, benefiting from their experience.”

Waqar felt Pakistan needed a bigger pool of fast bowlers to cope with the demand of limited-overs cricket and was optimistic he could help create one.

“The way cricket has expanded, having four-five fast bowlers is not enough,” he said.

“You probably need four-five mature bowlers for Test cricket. But for the shorter formats, you need a bigger pool of bowlers, who can share the massive workload.

“Naseem (Shah), Musa (Khan), Haris (Rauf), Dilbar (Hussain)... if we can harness them with Amir, Wahab and (Mohammad) Abbas, I think we can have a battery of 8-10 fast bowlers.

“And once we have that, we’d never be affected by anyone quitting abruptly and can rotate them.

“Bench strength is crucial. You need to create a pool, which even those on the bench are match-winners themselves.”