The senior Pakistan players made youngsters like me feel unwelcome in the team: Yasir Arafat
Former Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat has hit out at the senior cricketers of his time for not creating a conducive environment for the youngsters in the squad. He also lambasted the Pakistan selectors for their favouritism in team selection.
Yasir Arafat made these revelations during a candid chat with Kamran Akmal on the latter's YouTube channel.
The former all-rounder was asked if he has any regrets at having not represented Pakistan for a long time. Arafat was rather unfortunate to have played in the era of Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood, who were at the peak of their careers.
Yasir Arafat recalled his ODI debut in the year 2000, with the Pakistan team having undergone a lot of changes after their poor performance on the Australia tour.
"When I made my debut in 2000, we had come after playing the under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. The Pakistan team had come back from Australia at the time and there were a lot of changes done, they had dropped 5-6 players due to the bad performance."
He recollected making his debut alongside Younis Khan, with Saeed Anwar also being appointed as the captain for the first time.
"Even the captaincy, I think Wasim Akram was doing it and Saeed Anwar was made the captain for the first time. In that match Younis Khan and another batsman Imran Abbas made their debuts apart from me."
Yasir Arafat revealed that the senior players in the team created a vitiated atmosphere in the dressing room, causing the youngsters to feel unwelcome.
"The atmosphere was such, the senior players had an attitude, that you would feel that you are unwelcome in the team."
He added that he even felt like he was not playing for the country, as the youngsters were left to fend for themselves with no support from the seniors.
"You will not feel that you are playing for your nation, you would feel that you have come to an alien place where if you need to perform, you need to do it yourself, you would not get any support at all."
Yasir Arafat on not being given enough opportunities to play for Pakistan
Yasir Arafat acknowledged that he was a little unfortunate to have played in the era of Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood, who are two of Pakistan's greatest-ever all-rounders.
"You have mentioned that there were good all-rounders at that time. Obviously, no doubt that Pakistan cricket has not had all-rounders like Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood."
But he lambasted the selectors for not picking him when the aforementioned two all-rounders were not in the team and instead opting for players who had hardly played first-class cricket.
"But even when they were not there, other cricketers were fast-tracked based on someone's liking, someone who had played two matches of first-class cricket or not played at all. I didn't understand why I was not in their good books."
Yasir Arafat observed that he was only given a chance once in a blue moon and then also not given his full quota of overs.
"I used to value domestic cricket and play the entire season and perform. Pakistan team used to play me in an odd match and there also give me 5-7 overs and then drop me."
Yasir Arafat also narrated an incident from his comeback match in 2005, when he was told that he would not be playing and was asked to go represent his domestic team instead.
"When I made a comeback against England in 2005, I will give an example of that. Before the Karachi match, the management told me that they would not be playing me that match and said that my domestic team wanted me to play for them."
"I felt very strange because I play domestic cricket for the entire season and when I have performed and made it to the Pakistan team, they are again asking me to play domestic cricket."
Yasir Arafat revealed that he was made to play the ODI after he had refused to go and play domestic cricket, but was informed of his inclusion only at the last moment.
"So I refused at that time and I don't know how they played me that match. There was no communication with me. In the morning when I played the match also, I was told at the last moment that I was playing."
Yasir Arafat signed off by iterating that he was never given a proper chance, with him being given only 7 overs in that match even though he was bowling well and had dismissed Andrew Flintoff.
"There also I dismissed Flintoff and there was a catch dropped in the slips of my bowling but I got to bowl only 7 overs. So I was never given a proper chance."
Yasir Arafat represented Pakistan in just 11 ODIs, in which he captured 4 wickets. He also played 13 T20Is for Pakistan, scalping 16 wickets at an excellent average of 19.75.