Jalaluddin: “Shafiq should have been picked because Pakistan are selecting larger squads. Not all players should be new. You need a mixture”
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Former Pakistan fast bowler Jalaluddin believes veteran batsman Asad Shafiq should have been picked for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Shafiq has not played international cricket since being dropped after the the tour of England last year, where he scored 67 runs in three Tests at an average of 13.40.
After being dropped, Shafiq regained his form in domestic cricket.
In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he amassed 748 runs in 10 matches for Sindh, which includes two centuries and five fifties, at an average of 53.42.
He followed that up with 351 runs in 11 games in the Pakistan Cup, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 35.10.
Given how experienced Shafiq is, Jalaluddin feels he should have been included in the team, especially as Pakistan is traveling with a much larger squad.
“Shafiq should have been picked because Pakistan are selecting larger squads. Not all players should be new. You need a mixture,” he told Batting with Bimal.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and four T20 Internationals against South Africa before heading to Zimbabwe for two Tests and three T20 Internationals.
Pakistan will depart for South Africa on March 26 and the tour will commence on April 2 and conclude on April 16. The ODI series will be played first.
The men in green will then head to Zimbabwe on April 17, but the dates for the matches have yet to be confirmed.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) noted that the national team will travel back to Lahore from Bulawayo on May 12.
Pakistan’s Test Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan.
Pakistan’s ODI Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.
Pakistan’s T20 Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal.