"Mohammad Amir was with me, let's select him"- Virender Sehwag slams Wahab Riaz for selection bias after Pakistan's early exit from 2024 T20 World Cup
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has accused Pakistan's chief selector Wahab Riaz of showing favoritism in the selection of Mohammad Amir in the squad after the side's embarrassing exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup. Riaz was appointed Pakistan's head of the selection committee in November last year after the side's dismal ODI World Cup campaign.
Amir, who hadn't played for Pakistan in any format since 2020, suddenly reversed his retirement decision and was back in the T20 squad for the home series against New Zealand earlier this year.
Speaking on a Cricbuzz show, Sehwag criticized Riaz for his biased selection of Amir.
"Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, these are two names who criticized Pakistan team on the same TV channel, giving their comments...Today, one of them is a selector (Riaz) and one is in the playing eleven (Amir). So the same persons who were criticizing, if today they have power, became the selector, what have they done first up? 'Mohammad Amir was with me, let's select him', said Sehwag.
He added:
"It's like if Ajit Agarkar is chairman (of BCCI selection committee) today, he will say 'come Viru, come Zak (Zahir Khan)', I will facilitate your comeback'.
To his credit, Amir was impressive in the 2024 T20 World Cup, picking up seven wickets at an average of 10.28 and an economy of 4.50 in four outings.
However, his expensive Super Over of 18 runs against the USA proved costly as Pakistan suffered a shock defeat in their tournament opener.
"You have a job, make the right use of it, don't do favors" - Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag further doubled down on his scathing criticism of Wahab Riaz by calling on him to use his position to make fair selection calls.
Apart from Amir, all-rounder Imad Wasim also reversed his retirement after a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to be selected for the T20 World Cup squad. He endured a dismal campaign with the bat, averaging under 10 at a strike rate of 65.51.
However, Wasim's bowling was fairly impressive, with an average of 14.66 and an economy of 4 in three matches.
"You [ Wahab Riaz] have become a selector, you have to look at the future. You have a job, make the right use of it, don't do favors. That hard step selectors will have to take," said Sehwag on the same Cricbuzz show.
Following the shocking defeat to the USA, Babar Azam's Men lost to arch-rivals India from a winning position to effectively end their hopes of qualifying for the Super Eights.
Pakistan eventually won their final two games against Canada and Ireland but it was too little too late as they finished third in the Group A standings behind India and the USA.