Latif wants PCB to follow India's bench strength policy

Former captain Rashid Latif has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board to emulate the Indian model of building up bench strength and giving more exposure to the upcoming players.
Latif told PTI that the PCB and its selectors needed to learn from the strategy adopted by the Indian selectors with the support of its board BCCI.
"India has sent a second string side to Bangladesh and no matter what the results of the one-day series, the fact is that in the long run Indian cricket will benefit as their reserve players are getting exposure at the top level," he said.
Latif, an outspoken personality who turned down the chief selector's job recently as he didn't agree with the board's policies, said that Pakistan for some reason appeared reluctant to take gambles.

"We have a tour to Sri Lanka coming up in August and I think it is best time to give our upcoming players or those who have been discarded a good chance to prove themselves against tough competition. I am not saying send a totally new side but definitely the youngsters can be given more chances and they should be played against Sri Lanka instead of just taking them on tours and leaving them on the bench," he said.
The former captain said that the Indian selectors were doing the right thing by giving exposure to their youngsters and thus building up healthy competition for places in the national team for the different formats.

"I like their approach they are giving more confidence to the youngsters and have also not entirely lost confidence in discarded players like Robin Uthappa. We need to follow their example."

He pointed out that one reason for Pakistan not producing enough quality players was because of lack of competition for places in the national side.
"When I played I was on my toes because my competition was Moin Khan for the keeper's spot and vice versa he also tried his best to be in the side. There is nothing wrong with such healthy competition. We will achieve nothing if we send our full strength and tried and tested players to Sri Lanka and even win the series," he noted.

Latif also expressed dissatisfaction with the board's decision to not send the Pakistan team for the cricket competition in the Asian Games in Korea this year.
"I think we need to send our under-23 team because more than anything our players gain the experience of their lifetime living in the Asian Games village and it is a totally different world," he said.