LAHORE: Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed has opened up about the exclusion of wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan from the T20I squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Azam could only score one run in two innings of the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
“Azam Khan did not perform well in the series against Afghanistan, but mistakes happen. However, the door is open for his return if he works on his issues and improves. Many cricketers in the world have been dropped and made a comeback and played cricket for a long time,” Rasheed said.
“Currently, we have Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris as wicketkeeper-batters, and Azam Khan is in the pipeline,” he added.
Rashid also denied reports about the selection committee contacting Mohammad Amir over a possible return to the national side.
“Why would selection committee contact anyone? We said it on the first day that the selection door is open for everyone, now it is up to them how they perform. Then we will judge their performance,” he said.
He also shed light on the importance of left-hander Haris Sohail in the squad ahead of the World Cup in India.
"Pakistan has to play World Cup 2023 in India and bearing that in mind Haris Sohail is an outstanding middle-order batter who can play spinners really well," he said.
"PCB Selection Committee can experiment in T20 squad but cannot do the same in the ODI squad because Pakistan team only has eight ODIs before the World Cup,” he added.
Rasheed also brushed aside the notion that the selection committee and all-format captain Babar Azam were not on the same page.
“Babar Azam is the captain of the Pakistan team and the squad was finalised after discussion with him. There is no disagreement and everyone is on the same page with regards to selection,” he said.
Pakistan squads
T20I: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir
Series schedule (T20Is to start at 9pm; ODIs to begin at 3.30pm):
14 Apr - 1st T20I, Lahore
15 Apr – 2nd T20I, Lahore
17 Apr – 3rd T20I, Lahore
20 Apr – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
24 Apr – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
27 Apr – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
29 Apr – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
3 May – 3rd ODI, Karachi
5 May – 4th ODI, Karachi
7 May – 5th ODI, Karachi
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.- Azam Khan