RAWALPINDI: Former players have questioned the omission of Imad Wasim, who has come back from retirement to play international cricket, after the all-rounder was dropped from the Pakistan team for the first T20 match against New Zealand.
Wasim and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir came out of retirement ahead of the T2 World Cup in June this year after a lot of convincing, but the spin bowling all-rounder did not find a place in the playing eleven on Thursday.
Only two balls could be bowled as the first T20 match could not be played here due to incessant rain and Pakistan gave debuts to UAE off-spinner Usman Khan, middle-order batsman and fast bowler Irfan Khan and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Former Test player Iqbal Qasim said, "It doesn't make any sense to me, to be honest, Ima should have played in place of Shadab Khan."
Former player, head coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan said that players like Imad and Aamir should play all the games to 'get over the wildness'."There is so much noise about bringing back Imad and Aamir and they should get maximum matches to overcome their weaknesses in international cricket," he said.
It is known that captain Babar Azam and Imad do not have cordial relations. It is said that Babar left the Karachi Kings franchise in the Pakistan Super League because of Imad, who later went on to play for Islamabad United.
Former captain and team director Mohammad Hafeez had claimed that Imad had retired from international cricket after being pushed hard by the team management, including Babar.
Another former player said, "If Imad is a left-arm spinner it would have made more cricket sense to bring more power down the batting order than Shadab.,
However, cricket writer and analyst Omar Alavi believes that Babar will have to take the right decisions in his second term.
“Babar has got a second chance to create his legacy as Pakistan captain, but to do so he will have to ensure selection based on merit and situational requirement,” Alavi said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan will look to maximize their preparations for the T20 World Cup with series against New Zealand (currently ongoing), Ireland and England.
Wasim and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir came out of retirement ahead of the T2 World Cup in June this year after a lot of convincing, but the spin bowling all-rounder did not find a place in the playing eleven on Thursday.
Only two balls could be bowled as the first T20 match could not be played here due to incessant rain and Pakistan gave debuts to UAE off-spinner Usman Khan, middle-order batsman and fast bowler Irfan Khan and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Former Test player Iqbal Qasim said, "It doesn't make any sense to me, to be honest, Ima should have played in place of Shadab Khan."
Former player, head coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan said that players like Imad and Aamir should play all the games to 'get over the wildness'."There is so much noise about bringing back Imad and Aamir and they should get maximum matches to overcome their weaknesses in international cricket," he said.
It is known that captain Babar Azam and Imad do not have cordial relations. It is said that Babar left the Karachi Kings franchise in the Pakistan Super League because of Imad, who later went on to play for Islamabad United.
Former captain and team director Mohammad Hafeez had claimed that Imad had retired from international cricket after being pushed hard by the team management, including Babar.
Another former player said, "If Imad is a left-arm spinner it would have made more cricket sense to bring more power down the batting order than Shadab.,
However, cricket writer and analyst Omar Alavi believes that Babar will have to take the right decisions in his second term.
“Babar has got a second chance to create his legacy as Pakistan captain, but to do so he will have to ensure selection based on merit and situational requirement,” Alavi said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan will look to maximize their preparations for the T20 World Cup with series against New Zealand (currently ongoing), Ireland and England.
