Former Test captain Rashid Latif on Thursday backed under-fire wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman, who was included in the national team for the tour of West Indies.
Salman has been selected to keep wickets in the One-day International and Twenty20 matches to be played in Caribbean.
Talking to `Our Sources` from Sialkot, Latif said that Salman will not let down the nation.
“He is good prospect for the country and will not let down the team,” he said.
“His inclusion has been widely criticised but I think he should be given a chance to prove himself.”
A few years ago, Latif had conducted a special camp of the emerging wicketkeepers in which he tipped Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Salman as the two most-promising glovemen in the country.
“I recommended the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to groom both Salman and Sarfraz for the future because both of them were technically strong than the rest,” he added.
Meanwhile, Latif encouraged Sarfraz Ahmed to keep up the good work and said that his time will come soon.
“Sarfraz should not lose hope because he is a very bright talent and will get his opportunity,” he stressed. “Salman can serve the Pakistan for good two or three years.”
Latif, who is also looking after the Afghanistan team said the void of not having a good wicketkeeper will be filled with the inclusion of Salman, who has moved to Faisalabad.
The 29-year-old wicket was resident of Karachi`s Model Colony but made his move couple of years back.
He has scored 3569 runs in 103 first-class matches at an average of 26.63 with four centuries and 20 half-centuries. He has also claimed 304 victims behind the stumps.
Both Salman and Sarfraz were fighting to replace Kamran Akmal until Zulqarnain Haider was inducted out of the blue into the team.
“Salman deserves his chance because he has been performing well for last couple of years and has a healthy experience of first-class cricket,” he said. “Zulqarnain Haider was brought in because the competition was between Sarfraz and Salman.”
