3 recent selection calls from Pakistan which were heavily trolled
Despite a recent near-triumph at the T20 World Cup 2022, one cannot help but feel a sense of turmoil in the Pakistan camp. A recent 3-0 drubbing at home against England was followed by a draw against New Zealand, which ensured the Men in Green ended winless on home soil in the entire World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
The recent results have led to serious repercussions. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja and the selection committee led by Mohammad Wasim were relieved of their duties. With more changes impending, which include the appointment of a new head coach, Pakistan are turning a corner, but this time they have to ensure that they are not turning in circles.
Several of Pakistan's woes emerge right from its foundation itself. The Men in Green have suffered due to some highly questionable selection calls in the recent past.
The appointment of Shan Masood as ODI vice-captain without Babar Azam's and the selector's knowledge and his further exclusion from the playing XI is only the tip of the iceberg. The left-handed batter was not included in the team's first ODI against New Zealand, a call which was subjected to endless trolls focusing on the unrest within the Pakistan management.
#PAKvNZ Babar Azam answers the question of Shan Masood playing the first ODI as vice-captain tomorrow or not 👇 #PAKvNZ
https://t.co/xuv1b8tcsH
Here are three more instances where Pakistan's team selection was heavily trolled.
#1 Selecting Asif Ali and Haider Ali over Shoaib Malik in Pakistan's squad for the T20 World Cup 2022
The decision to exclude stalwart Shoaib Malik from the 2022 T20 World Cup squad earned the wrath of fans and pundits alike. The all-rounder was snubbed with the likes of Asif Ali, Haider Ali, and Khushdil Shah making it into the final squad in Australia.
The team's middle-order woes and over-dependency on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were well-documented. However, the selection committee overlooked the potential experience that Malik would have brought into the playing XI.
Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram launched a furious rant over Malik's non-exclusion following Babar Azam and co.'s defeat against Zimbabwe in the Super 12 stage. He said on A Sports:
“From past one year, we knew that middle-order is weak. Shoaib Malik is sitting here. If I was captain, what would have been my end goal? To win the World Cup! I would go to any means to achieve that. If I want Shoaib Malik in my team, I will tell chairman and selectors that I won't play in the World Cup if I don't get my player."
Malik, regarded as one of the finest Pakistani players in the shortest format, last made an international appearance in November 2021.
#2 Excluding Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali for the Test series against England
Right-arm pacer Mohammad Abbas had a dream start to his Pakistan red-ball career, but fizzled out of the scene much like the candidates before him.
Having claimed 90 wickets in 25 Tests at an average of 23.06 and even the No.1 ranking among Test bowlers at one time, his last appearance came in August 2021.
Despite the absence of Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan named a formidable pace unit for the Test series against England in December 2022. Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, and Mohammad Ali were poised to pose a serious challenge against the rampant English outfit.
As someone independent to the Pakistan selection process, I cannot fathom why Mohammad Abbas isn’t one of the first names on the team sheet.
Against England, him consistently hitting a good area would at least have slowed the scoring down/induced mistakes. twitter.com/CricCritic2/st…
Following injuries to Rauf and Shah, several expected Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali to be included. However, Azam stuck with Ali, Faheem Ashraf, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr for the remainder of the series, which eventually ended in a whitewash in England's favor.
Former spinner Danish Kaneria was among those who were highly critical of the performances of the pacers in the Test series.
Even in the ensuing series against New Zealand, Abbas was snubbed while Ali made a comeback and made his first Test appearance in five months.
#3 Holding Mohammad Haris among traveling reserves for the T20 World Cup 2022
Apart from the questionable decision to exclude Shoaib Malik, the Men in Green's T20 World Cup 2022 squad also saw the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Haris being confined to the traveling reserves. While both players went on to feature in the competition, it was the latter that caught everyone's attention,
Mohammad Haris burst onto the scene with a splendid cameo against South Africa in a must-win encounter. Coming in at No. 3, the young batter took on a fiery Proteas attack head-on in a knock rife with intent, something which proved to be a breath of fresh air for the side, who are yet to completely embrace an aggressive brand of cricket.
Following his run of splendid performances in the tournament, Pakistan were heavily trolled for not playing such an intent-filled batter in their defeats against India and Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament.
The selection call to rush Shaheen Afridi back into action as well as the decision to keep Sarfaraz Ahmed away from the Test team has also been widely criticized.
The left-arm seamer aggravated his knee injury in the T20 World Cup 2022 final, leaving him unavailable for a significant while.
Sarfaraz, on the other hand, made a monumental comeback by claiming the Player of the Series award for his exploits in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand.
Will the newly formed selection committee led by Shahid Afridi amend the mistakes made by the predecessor? Let us know what you think.
Also Read: 3 reasons why Kuldeep Yadav must start for India in the ODIs against Sri Lanka