Former Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has hailed national chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq's decision to choose number of young players in the team for the four-match T20I series against West Indies, which the Men in Green went on to clinch by 3-1.
The 45-year-old, who stepped down from the post of Pakistan's head coach after the 2016 World T20 debacle and was replaced by South Africa's Mickey Arthur, believes that by picking up young players in the squad, Inzamam had taken a risk that no other person was willing to take.
18-year-old leg-spinner Shadab Khan, left-arm pacer Rumman Raees, medium fast-bowler Hasan Ali and many other youngsters were included in the limited-overs squad for the tour of West Indies, reports Express Tribune.
Inzamam's decision did reap fruits for the T20 side led by wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed as Shadab turned out to be a key performer for Pakistan with two man-of-the-match awards in the first two games.
He also made significant contributions in the third and fourth T20Is to help the visiting side seal the series, the Express Tribune reported.
"Delighted to see Inzamam doing the job which other selectors were reluctant to do - picking young players [like] Shadab, Hasan [Ali] ,Rumman #GreatJob #WIvPAK," Younis tweeted.
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Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja also praised the young stars for their 'good' performances in the T20I series win against the Caribbean side.
Ramiz said in his tweet, "You know that the team is developing and has a future if all [of] its young recruits feature in a win - Shadab, Hasan, Babar [Azam],Rumman, Imad [Wasim]. Good job!"
Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi also praised the team's excellent series win before expressing his hope to see much consistence batting performance in the coming future.
"Excellent series win, great captaincy Sarfraz, Ahmed [Shahzad] batted well today [in the last T20I], Shadab [is a] fantastic find for Pak[istan]. Hope to see more consistent batting," Afridi tweeted.
Pakistan will now head into a three-match ODI series against West Indies, beginning February 7 at the Providence. The series will be followed by three-match Test series.