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Former players have raised questions about Imad Wasim's exclusion from the Pakistan team for the first T20I against New Zealand. Despite coming out of retirement to play international cricket again, Wasim didn't make it to the playing eleven on April 18. Recently, Wasim and left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir returned from retirement ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin in June. However, the first T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand was wiped out due to rain after two balls.
Talking about the Pakistan line-up, former Test player Iqbal Qasim said that Wasim should have played instead of Shadab Khan.
“(It) makes no sense to me, honestly, Imad should have played in place of Shadab Khan,” said Qasim as quoted by PTI.
Another former player, head coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan said that they need to play consistently to overcome rustiness.
“So much hue and cry over bringing back Imad and Amir and they must get maximum matches to overcome their rustiness in international cricket,” Mohsin said.
It’s no secret that Skipper Babar Azam and Imad have a strained relationship. It is said that Babar has left the Karachi Kings franchise in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) because of Imad. Former captain and team director Mohammad Hafeez went on to say that Imad took his international retirement after being harshly treated by the team management including Babar.
Despite criticism, cricket writer and analyst Omar Alavi said that Babar should make the right decisions as a captain.
“Babar has got a second chance to create his own legacy as Pakistan captain but to do that he has to ensure selection on merit and situational requirement,” Alavi said.
Notably, the remaining will take place in Rawalpindi on April 20 and 21 and in Lahore on April 25 and 27.
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