Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, former hard hitting Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed stated that 4 opening batsmen had caught his and his fellow selectors eyes in recent times and they would be under serious consideration for the one day series against New Zealand due to be held in the UAE next month.

Ijaz stated "There are 4 openers who have impressed me and my fellow selectors recently and they are Umar Amin, Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali. I feel we need to look at playing regular openers at the top of the order for the New Zealand one day series and with a view to next years World Cup. It's time for a fresh start at the top of the order".

"I feel that Imran Nazir has had enough chances and has not made enough of those opportunities presented to him and its time to give someone else a chance. I also think that if we are to continue with Kamran Akmal opening the batting, in order to get the team off to a quick start, then we need to have another regular opener batting in the number three position", added Ijaz.

Ijaz who was earlier this year working as one of the coaches at the NCA in Lahore, before being appointed to the National selection committee prior to the Champions Trophy, felt that Pakistan's batting order was incorrect in the semi final against New Zealand and was puzzled as to why skipper Younus Khan opted to bat first at the Wanderers. "I simply dont understand why Shoaib Malik was pushed to number three in the batting order and Younus decided to go in at number 4, when Malik had been performing well at number 4 earlier in the tournament. Also I was mystified as to why Younus decided to bat first in conditions that suited seam bowling and where the ball was going to move around early in the innings. When Pakistan won the toss, the skipper should have put the opposition in".

"I felt though that the team generally played well in South Africa and had a couple of umpiring decisions gone their way, then the result against New Zealand could have been so different. I was particularly pleased with Umar Akmal who showed maturity and great skill. I would leave him in the middle order where he is doing well at the moment and there is no need to push him up the order just yet. Perhaps in future he could bat higher up the order, but at this stage, leave him where he is doing well", added Ijaz.

Responding to a question regarding the current coaching setup, Ijaz stated "I strongly feel that the Pakistan team needs to have a full time batting coach, someone who accompanies the team on overseas tours. Too often our bowlers do so well, only for the batsmen to underperform, its something that really needs to be looked into and sorted out".