KARACHI, May 11: Pakistan received a boost on Wednesday when Hasib Ahsan, a former chief selector, backed the present outfit to win the forthcoming Test series in the West Indies. Hasib said that Inzamamul Haq has made marked improvement as captain. Because of this vital factor, Pakistan did well in India to square the Test series before winning with the one-day rubber 4-2.

“I don’t see any problem forthcoming for this team in the Caribbean. As a skipper Inzamam has been inspirational and has earned the respect of his team-mates through his own performances on the field,” he noted.

He added Younis Khan was a good choice as vice-captain and was capable of leading Pakistan in the first Test. “Initially, I was surprised when Younis was nominated vice-captain in place of Yousuf Youhana for the Indian tour. But having performed exceptionally well during the series, he has proved to be a sensible choice.”

Hasib stressed that leg-spinner Danish Kaneria held the key to the outcome of the series. “It entirely depends on how well West Indies cope with Kaneria. There are obvious weaknesses in the West Indian line-up that Pakistan must take advantage of.

“They (West Indians) tend to favour the onside for runs. A bowler like Kaneria can wreck havoc if he exploits this shortcoming. In addition, we have Shahid Afridi who is also a pretty useful bowler and could play a crucial role in tandem with Kaneria.”

The former Test off-spinner also took a swipe at the Pakistan Cricket Board hierarchy for their failure to get pace bowler Mohammad Sami treated in time.

“I just don’t understand why the PCB delayed in having Sami undergo surgery on his troublesome heel. The team returned from India on April 18 and some days after that the players were asked to attend the reception in Islamabad.

“Had PCB showed some sense, Sami might have recovered in time to make the West Indies tour. Pakistan will surely miss him because he bowled well in India.”

Hasib remarked that the reasons behind Indian failure to win both Test and one-day series were multiple.

“(Saurav) Ganguly was one prime reason for India’s poor showing. Since he was out of form, he should have been dropped. But he played on nevertheless until he was banned for slow over-rate.

“The other reason which I feel was more important was Irfan Pathan. This youngster was simply not fit to play. He not only lacked fitness, but also lost the art of swinging the ball.”

Meanwhile, the outspoken Hasib attacked Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, for criticizing ex-Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmed’s comments in an article published in Dawn a few days ago.

“First of all, he (the PCB chief) should set his own house in order. Where are the much-trumpeted changes in the cricket board that he had been promising since the day he took over as chairman?

“I was greatly disappointed to read his rejoinder in response to an article in which Salahuddin offered the PCB some sound advice while urging the cricket board to look ahead instead of beating the drums about team’s performance in India.

“At his age, Mr Shaharyar should stay out of worries about running cricket affairs. My sincere advice to him would be to quit and let someone else take over the responsibility of looking after Pakistan cricket.”