Misbah-ul-Haq reportedly unhappy with selection of Sharjeel Khan in T20I squad
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is reportedly not happy with the selection of 'unfit' left-handed batsman Sharjeel Khan in the T20I team for the upcoming tours to South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Sharjeel Khan is making a return to the Pakistan team after four years. He was earlier banned for 5 years for his involvement in the PSL spot-fixing scandal. The ban was later reduced, allowing the 31-year-old to return to competitive cricket.
The opening batsman has been rewarded with a place in the Pakistan team following his exploits in PSL 2021. Sharjeel Khan scored 200 runs in five games for Karachi Kings at a strike rate of 170.94, including one hundred, before the tournament was postponed.
According to reports in Cricket Pakistan, not only Misbah, but even captain Babar Azam is not pleased with Sharjeel Khan’s selection as he currently weighs 112kg. Misbah believes that allowing Sharjeel Khan to return could pave the way for more unfit players to make a comeback.
The report also pointed out that when Misbah was the captain, he had asked the-then coach Mickey Arthur to send Sharjeel Khan back to Pakistan from a tour as he weighed 96kg. Further, Misbah is also said to be upset over leg-spinner Yasir Shah being excluded from the Test side, owing to fitness concerns, while Sharjeel was chosen.
Sources were quoted as saying in the report that skipper Azam has already raised the selection issues with PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan.
Pakistan’s chief selector stresses on performance while discussing Sharjeel Khan's selection
Interestingly, while announcing Pakistan’s squads for South Africa and Zimbabwe tours, chief selector Mohammad Wasim emphasized on the performance of players, even if their fitness is a concern.
Referring to Sharjeel Khan’s selection, Wasim was quoted as saying in a press conference:
“Fitness isn’t the only criteria for selection – at the end of the day, a player has to play cricket. We are already working on reviewing the fitness testing levels and will introduce a new strategy. I didn’t comment on Sharjeel’s fitness earlier as his performances were patchy, but now we have to look at anyone who performs, whatever the fitness they have. Yes, I understand there is still a lot work that needs to be done on his fitness and he will improve with time, but at the moment he can win us big games with his bat.”
Apart from Sharjeel Khan, veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez was also recalled to the T20I squad, having missed the series against South Africa at home.