“Till the last moment, our World Cup squad was not final and clear. There is a big problem that senior players try to linger on in their careers and there is no one to tell them it is time for them to retire gracefully,” the legendary fast bowler remarked without taking any specifying any names in an interview to a national daily.
“For the last so many years, we see the same thing. At the last moment, seniors are brought in as the authorities are scared to lose in a big tournament,” he added. Taking a swipe at those defending Pakistan’s performance in the World Cup on the basis of the fact that the team won its last four matches, Waqar made it clear the team should never have been in such a position.“The way we struggled to win against Afghanistan in the final over it should not be like that. Our biggest problem is we make compromises in selection on fitness issues, seniority, and other matters,” he said. Waqar, who was replaced as head coach of the national team in 2016 by Mickey Arthur after a nearly two-and-half-year stint, said it was clear in the World Cup that the fitness of Pakistani players was way below the other competing sides in the tournament.