Pakistan Batting Coach Younis Khan Says Players Picked After One-Off Performances Hurting Team

Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan feels a player must toil hard in the domestic circuit before he's picked in the national side. Younis said a lot of cricketers in the recent past were picked in the Pakistan Test team after looking at their performances in T20Is and ODIs. Last week, Pakistan Cricket Board announced a 20-member squad, including nine uncapped players, for the two-Test series against South Africa, which commences on January 26. The former skipper highlighted how other teams have players who burst into the international arena after playing at least 100 first-class games and Pakistan on the other hand picks players looking at their performances in other formats.

"Ideally, a player should have lots of cricket behind them before being selected for the top national team. When we talk about other players from successful teams, they come with an excess of 100 first-class matches, and we are missing out on this," ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

"We have so many players inducted into the team after playing T20I matches and ODIs, so in terms of Test cricket, it takes time to understand your role and transform your game accordingly from one format to another," he added.

Pakistan was outplayed by New Zealand in the Test series last month. The Babar Azam-led side has struggled to find their feet in the longest format in the past few years.

"There is definitely a lack of cricket behind them when they are picked for the national side. We used to play a lot of cricket from the top to grade two level and had more tough conditions overall," Younis said.

"But these days it's different, with a lot of players picked after one-off performances.

"But when they are selected too early, they are found out on the international stage, with a lot of weaknesses highlighted that are not apparent at the domestic level," he added. 

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