Selfish batting led to clean sweep: Jalaluddin

Former Pakistan pacer Jalaluddin has blamed the Pakistan batsmen for playing for their personal milestones rather than the team’s interest.

While talking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Jalaluddin said that Pakistan batsmen were guilty of selfish attitude during the ODI series against Australia.

 “Pakistan batsmen could have scored more than 280 in the first two games if they improved their strike rate, rather than focusing on their personal milestones,” said Jalaluddin.

The 59-year-old also criticised the Pakistan batsmen for not providing enough support to the bowlers on pitches which were not conducive for pace bowling.

“The pitches in the UAE are not suited for pace bowling. Hence the onus is on the batsmen to provide enough runs on the board for bowlers to bowl without any fear of conceding runs,” he said.

The Karachi-born didn’t agree with the selectors’ decision to rest main players, for Australia ODIs, including Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2019 World Cup.

“It is unusual to rest your captain so close to the World Cup,” he said. “If they wanted to check new players, Sarfaraz should have been there to see how the young players perform in the series.”

The former fast-bowler wasn’t happy with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision of not extending his contract as the chief selector of Pakistan women’s cricket team.

“I have not had any official communication on this matter from the PCB. I heard news about a new selection committee being formed only from the newspapers,” he said. “I am satisfied with my performance as the chief selector. During my tenure, the team performed really well and won three series, including an important series against the West Indies.”

Talking about his future plans, Jalaluddin said he is focused on continuing his passion of cricket coaching and is available for any coaching role with the PCB.

“I want to pursue my job as a cricket coach as I have expertise in this field. I have also taught cricket coaching to around 28 coaches,” he said. “I have informed the managing director (MD) of PCB Wasim Khan about my availability to work as a coach with the PCB.”