Saeed Ajmal: “He should play if he is fit. He is your top performer in Test cricket and you can’t drop him like that”
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Saeed Ajmal said Pakistan cannot drop spinner Yasir Shah if he is fit to play as he is the team’s “top performer in Test cricket”.
Yasir was not picked for the recent tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe due to a left knee injury.
Chief selector Mohammad Wasim said “there were too many ifs and buts regarding his fitness and availability for selection”, and added that Yasir “would have needed time for his rehabilitation”.
However, Yasir told a very different story, saying he would have been fit for the tour.
Despite this, Ajmal urged Pakistan to continue selecting the 35-year-old if he is fit and healthy.
“He should play if he is fit. He is your top performer in Test cricket and you can’t drop him like that,” Ajmal told Cricket Pakistan.
“Babar Azam and Azhar Ali also said that we play only five or six Tests in a year, so how can we afford to give chances to new players as we already have a separate set of Test players. If there are only six Tests in a year and you rest Yasir for three of them, then what will he do?”
Yasir has represented Pakistan in 43 Tests and taken 235 wickets, which includes 16 five-wicket hauls, at an average of 30.83.