LAHORE - ‘Bad guys’ returned to boost Pakistan chances in the Twenty20 internationals when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Tuesday announced national squad for two T20s against Zimbabwe.
Impolite Ahmed Shahzad was retained his place in the squad while surprise recalls were Umar Akmal along with former captain Shoaib Malik and veteran paceman M Sami but shock of the day was exclusion of struggling spinner Saeed Ajmal.
The return of bad boy batsman Umar Akmal, who was left out of the Bangladesh tour for exhibiting a ‘poor attitude’ during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February and March, was quite amazing but also a good step as it is likely he will perform in front of home crowd and strengthen his position in the squad. Umar also played well in the Super8 T20 helping Lahore Lions score some crucial and significant victories, he deserves to be in the T20 squad.
Malik, the 33-year-old all-rounder, has not figured since a poor showing against Bangladesh in the last of his 59 T20 internationals in Dhaka in 2014. But a return to form in the Super8 T20 has led to him being recalled, said chief selector Haroon Rasheed. "In the absence of Ajmal who needs some time to adjust to his remodeled action, we needed someone who could bowl also and Malik has shown some good recent form," Haroon added. "Ajmal is an asset and as a professional he knows he needs some time, so he will play for (Worcestershire) county in England to gain his confidence back," the chief selector said.
Sami, 34, was once regarded as one of the world's fastest bowlers after he burst on to the scene in the early 2000s. But he last played for Pakistan on the tour of Sri Lanka in June 2012. The sources said that M Sami’s inclusion seemed quite strange as at the one hands, the board had been vowing to groom and boost young talent but on the other hand, it had been giving chances to old guns quite possibly just because of fears of not losing the matches at the home ground or may be due to any influential reference. “Sami looks quite unfit in the T20 squad and must not be part of playing XI,” the source demanded.
The inclusion of two uncapped players, 19-year-old opening batsman Nauman Anwar who has been in prolific form and impressed the selectors through his brilliant batting during the Super8 T20 Cup and all-rounder and former Pakistan U-19 captain Imad Wasim. It is hoped that Nauman will continue his good form during the Zimbabwe series and through his superb show, he will succeed in booking a permanent berth in the national T20 as well as ODI squads. Nauman was declared top batsman in the domestic Twenty20 event after scoring 270 runs at a strike-rate of 162.65 for Sialkot Stallions, including a match-winning 54-ball 97 in the final against Lahore Lions on Sunday.
The PCB chairman and the chief selector must answer the simple question that on what grounds, Mukhtar Ahmed, who was a huge flop against Bangladesh and M Rizwan, when specialist wicketkeeper and vice captain Sarfraz Ahmed was already in the squad, were included in the squad? Haroon should answer one simple question, whether he was wrong previously dropping Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad against Bangladesh. The deliberate drop of these two stylish batsmen cost Pakistan cricket team dearly against Bangladesh. Now the chief selector is not in a mood to repeat same mistake and invite the wrath of masses.
Overall, justice was finally done as highly ignored all-rounder Immad Wasim was finally given nod of approval after several years of wilderness and injustice being rendered to this talented player, who had played U-19 world cup alongside Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad and others, but despite showing tremendous performances with both willow and leather, he failed to attract the selectors.
Shoaib Malik was knocking at the national team doors since long and he was also performing exceptionally in the domestic circuit, so his inclusion was very much on the cards. Another highly talented all-rounder Hammad Azam, who was described as genuine future of Pakistan cricket by a number of cricket greats both home and abroad, but he was long ignored, and now finally stages comeback. He deserves to be in the playing XI, as he not only can hit lusty blows, but also capable of taking wickets when it matters most.
Overall, if the selectors pick balanced combination from the given 15 players, there is every possibility Pakistan will inflict a white-wash on touring Zimbabwe team not only in T20 Internationals but also in the ODIs.
PAKISTAN SQUAD:
Shahid Afridi (captain), Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad, M Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Nauman Anwar, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, M Rizwan, Anwar Ali, Hammad Azam, Imad Wasim, Bilawal Bhatti, Wahab Riaz and M Sami.