Mohammad Wasim on Haris Sohail: “There is no doubt he needs to improve his fitness and his current form”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan chief selector Mohammad Wasim has told batsman Haris Sohail to improve his fitness and form.
This comes after Haris was not selected for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Wasim noted that this was mainly due to the fact that he cannot see the 32-year-old “batting for 50 overs or thereabouts”.
Most recently, Haris played in the Pakistan Cup, which is a domestic one-day tournament, and scored 164 runs in four matches for Balochistan, which included a top score of 109 not out, at an average of 54.66 and a strike-rate of 100.61.
It was also reported that captain Babar Azam wanted Haris in the ODI team for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe as he averages 46.80 in the 50-over format.
However, Wasim and the other selectors allegedly didn’t listen to him.
“There is no doubt he needs to improve his fitness and his current form,” Wasim told PakPassion.
Haris has not played for Pakistan since their tour of New Zealand, while his last ODI came against Zimbabwe in October 2020.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and four T20 Internationals against South Africa before heading to Zimbabwe for two Tests and three T20 Internationals.
Pakistan departed 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.