Selector Illyas says son-in-law Farhat deserves place in squad

Sun, Jul 25 10 10:21 AM

Karachi, July 25 (PTI) National selector Muhammad Illyas has hit out at his critics who alleged conflict of interest whenever his son-in-law Imran Farhat was picked for Pakistan, saying that the youngster deserved a place in the squad. Farhat, married to Illyas'' daughter, hit a match-winning 67 as opener in Pakistan''s second innings in their three-wicket win over Australia in the second Test at Leeds. He also got decent starts in the first Test at Lord''s. "I was hurt when some people tried to insinuate that Imran was in the team because of me. Many people don''t know that whenever the selectors discussed Imran, I left the room because I felt It was better I was not involved in a final decision on his selection since he is my son-in-law," Illyas, a former Test player, told PTI. "I never had any say in his final selection because I saw it as a conflict of interest. If he came into the team it was because the other selectors felt he deserved a place," he said. The outspoken selector said he was not only happy that Pakistan had won a Test against Australia to break a 15-year-old jinx but also because Farhat scored crucial runs. "Whatever cricket Imran is playing it is because of his ability and hardwork. I have no say in it. It is a wrong impression that I push for him," Illyas said. "For me nothing is more important than national interest. I would never support or back a decision if it involved selecting a player who didn''t deserve to be in the team for any reason," he added. 20-year-old left-handed Farhat has been in and out of the national team since 2000 when he made his debut in New Zealand. He left international cricket to join ''rebel'' Indian Cricket League three years ago. Illyas said he was overjoyed with Pakistan''s Test win as it came through a new look team and under a new captain. "The victory is sweet because it is clear that Salman Butt has gelled the team well and they played like a team. I am confident they can carry on with their good performance in future as well," he stated. He, however, reserved special praise for left-arm pacer Muhammad Aamer who took seven wickets in the second Test. "He is one of the best talents to come up in Pakistan for a while now and he is a quick learner he is learning very quickly and he has a good cricket brain. He is now a more difficult bowler to face because of his ability to swing the ball into the right handed batsman," Illyas said.

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