LAHORE: Pakistani selectors on Thursday dropped leg spinner Usama Mir for the T20 series in Ireland and England, while recalling fast bowler Haris Rauf.
Selectors Muhammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz said in a media conference that Pakistan's World Cup team will be selected based on its performance in the matches against Ireland and England.
A three-match series in Ireland begins on May 10, before Pakistan travels to England for four matches from May 22.
"There are some fitness issues with Muhammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Azam Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi, but their fitness has improved significantly and we are confident that they will play in the upcoming matches," Wahab said.
Wahab also justified the recall of fast bowler Hasan Ali for the upcoming tour and said that he was already under consideration and is basically Haris's backup.“If Haris is fit and performs well in the coming matches then he is our first choice. H has started bowling but if he doesn't come then we have Hasan Ali.
Haris became unfit during the initial phase of the Pakistan Super League and has not played a match since February.
Razzaq said that leg spinner Usama has been left out because Pakistan already has Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed in the team.
Yousuf insisted that the 2-2 result in the recent T20 series against a weak New Zealand team was not bad."It is true that New Zealand were missing some key players but this is also the first time that we have fully implemented the rotation policy by trying out new players in the series," he said.
Yousuf also said that he was pushing the players to be more innovative in playing their shots and admitted that some players remained weak on this front.
"Look, unless we are prepared to accept failure and move on, our batsmen will never be prepared to play innovative strokes," he said.
Wahab also said that he had spoken to new head coach Gary Kirsten and they all agreed that the first thing they have to do is remove insecurities and fear of failure from the minds of the players.
“Our aim is to give them an environment where they can do their work fearlessly.,
Wahab also said that selecting the playing XI will remain the captain's domain and the selectors will not interfere in that area.
The selectors also defended Babar Azam's ability as a captain.
“No one is a born captain but from what we saw in the New Zealand series his leadership has improved and we are hopeful that he will improve and he has the captaincy experience. We want to be on the same page with them,” Razza said.
Teams: Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Rizwan, Azam Khan, Saeem Ayub, Fakha Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Irfan Khan Niazi, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan , Usama Khan, Abbas Afridi and Aga Ali Salman.
Selectors Muhammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz said in a media conference that Pakistan's World Cup team will be selected based on its performance in the matches against Ireland and England.
A three-match series in Ireland begins on May 10, before Pakistan travels to England for four matches from May 22.
"There are some fitness issues with Muhammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Azam Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi, but their fitness has improved significantly and we are confident that they will play in the upcoming matches," Wahab said.
Wahab also justified the recall of fast bowler Hasan Ali for the upcoming tour and said that he was already under consideration and is basically Haris's backup.“If Haris is fit and performs well in the coming matches then he is our first choice. H has started bowling but if he doesn't come then we have Hasan Ali.
Haris became unfit during the initial phase of the Pakistan Super League and has not played a match since February.
Razzaq said that leg spinner Usama has been left out because Pakistan already has Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed in the team.
Yousuf insisted that the 2-2 result in the recent T20 series against a weak New Zealand team was not bad."It is true that New Zealand were missing some key players but this is also the first time that we have fully implemented the rotation policy by trying out new players in the series," he said.
Yousuf also said that he was pushing the players to be more innovative in playing their shots and admitted that some players remained weak on this front.
"Look, unless we are prepared to accept failure and move on, our batsmen will never be prepared to play innovative strokes," he said.
Wahab also said that he had spoken to new head coach Gary Kirsten and they all agreed that the first thing they have to do is remove insecurities and fear of failure from the minds of the players.
“Our aim is to give them an environment where they can do their work fearlessly.,
Wahab also said that selecting the playing XI will remain the captain's domain and the selectors will not interfere in that area.
The selectors also defended Babar Azam's ability as a captain.
“No one is a born captain but from what we saw in the New Zealand series his leadership has improved and we are hopeful that he will improve and he has the captaincy experience. We want to be on the same page with them,” Razza said.
Teams: Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Rizwan, Azam Khan, Saeem Ayub, Fakha Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Irfan Khan Niazi, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan , Usama Khan, Abbas Afridi and Aga Ali Salman.
