‘Babar Azam must ensure merit-based selection’: Former Pakistan stars furious at Imad Wasim’s absence from XI Cricket News

Imad Wasim returns to international cricket after retirement, ex-player reacts to Imad Wasim after being left out of Pakistan team in first T20I against New Zealand )’s absence was questioned. Wasim and left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir made a convincing comeback ahead of the T20 World Cup in June this year, but the spin bowling all-rounder did not find a place in the eleven on Thursday.

As incessant rains washed out the first T20I here and only two balls were bowled, Pakistan handed the debut to off-spinner Usman Khan from UAE, middle-order batsman and seamer Irfan Khan and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed.

“It makes no sense to me, honestly Imad should have played in place of Shadab Khan,” said former Test player Iqbal Qasim. Former player, host Coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan said players like Imad and Aamir will have to play all the games to “overcome the rustiness”.

“The clamor for the return of Imad and Amir is so high and they must get the maximum number of games to overcome their rustiness in international cricket,” he said.

It is understood that skipper Babar Azam and Imad do not have a cordial relationship. Babar was said to have left Karachi Kings of the Pakistan Super League because of Imad, who later played for Islamabad United.

Former captain and team director Mohammad Hafeez claimed that Imad had accepted his retirement from the national team after feeling the efforts of the team management, including Babar.

Another former player said: “Compared to Shadab, Imad is a left-arm spinner who can bring more power lower down the batting order, which makes more sense for cricket. ”

However, cricket writer and analyst Omar Allawi believes Babar must take the right decisions in his second term.

“Babar has a second chance to create his legacy as captain of Pakistan, but to do so, he must ensure that his selections are based on merit and the demands of the situation,” Allawi said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will be doing their best to prepare for the T20 World Cup, where they will play series against New Zealand (ongoing), Ireland and England.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)