Babar Azam: “We will certainly pick them (Wahab, Amir) if we feel they are needed in the team. There’s no such thing that if they don’t have a central contract, they are out of the team or are being punished”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has revealed that Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez will still be on the selectors’ radar going forward.

This comes after the four veteran players didn’t receive central contracts for the 2020-2021 season.

Hafeez has already confirmed that he will be retiring from international cricket after the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

However, many people are concerned about Amir and Wahab’s future, especially as head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis criticised them for retiring from Test cricket at a time when the national team really needed them.

But, Azam reassured everyone that Amir, Wahab, Malik and Hafeez still have a future in the Pakistan team.

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“There’s no such thing that if a player doesn’t get a central contract, he won’t get chances or play for the team,” Azam was quoted as saying by PakPassion. “We had Naseem Shah playing last year and also Shoaib Malik and Hafeez bhai.

“There’s no such concept that they can’t come into the team or they won’t be considered. We will certainly pick them (Wahab, Amir) if we feel they are needed in the team. There’s no such thing that if they don’t have a central contract, they are out of the team or are being punished. We have spoken to them as well and they know they are available for selection.”

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