Misbah-ul-Haq: “Zahid Mahmood is mature and has more control, at the moment, as compared to Usman Qadir but if you to look at the variations of both spinners, Usman is ahead of Zahid”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has defended the decision not to include spinner Zahid Mahmood in the national team for the upcoming limited overs series against Zimbabwe.
Mahmood performed extremely well in the recently-concluded National T20 Cup.
Representing Southern Punjab, who lost to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the final, Mahmood finished with 12 wickets in nine matches at an average of 24.83 and an economy rate of 8.51.
While former wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif was particularly upset about Mahmood not being picked, Misbah insisted that selecting Usman Qadir instead was the right move.
“Zahid Mahmood is mature and has more control, at the moment, as compared to Usman Qadir but if you to look at the variations of both spinners, Usman is ahead of Zahid,” Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“Also, we have invested almost a year in Usman. We took him to Australia and he was also part of Bangladesh home series.
“Even the other selectors also agreed that we should first give Usman another chance and see how he goes. He has potential to go on and become a better bowler, which is why he was selected for the series.”
Pakistan’s series against Zimbabwe will consist of three ODIs and three T20 Internationals.
The ODIs will be held in Rawalpindi from October 30 to November 3, while the T20 Internationals have been moved from Multan to Lahore and will take place from November 7 to 10.
However, the T20 series could see a venue change once again as it may be shifted from Lahore to Rawalpindi due to smog.
Pakistan’s 22 probables for the Zimbabwe series: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz and Zafar Gohar