Islamabad, June 18(ANI): Pakistan's Chief Selector Mohsin Khan has said that he has been working upon the formation of a 'separate specialised team' for the Twenty20 format of cricket.
"I want 70-80% of the Twenty20 squad for next year's World Cup to be made up of twenty over specialists," PakPassion.net quoted Mohsin, as saying.
"I've always been keen on having a "separate team" for the Twenty over format and that is something that we have been working upon and will continue to do so as the build up towards the World Cup carries on," he added.
The chief selector revealed that he would not just be casting a watchful eye over players in the upcoming domestic tournament to find some "hidden gems", but would also be monitoring the performances of Pakistani players in County cricket.
"The boys that are playing in the Friends Life Twenty20 competition in England are very lucky. They are playing in a competition with a high standard of cricket and my fellow selectors and I will be keeping a very close eye on their performances. It's good for Pakistan cricket that we have a number of our players playing County cricket this year," he said.
Apart from the generally accepted criteria of good match performances, Mohsin, unlike many of his predecessors, singled out fielding standards as a major factor in selection of future squads especially in the twenty-over format.
"The emphasis on fielding has never been greater. The players all know the importance of fielding standards and fitness levels. Those boys that are good in the field definitely have an advantage when it comes to selection," he maintained.
