Rashid Latif: “Haris gets into the middle order based on his T20 performance. I didn’t like it. I felt bad”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif said he didn’t like the fact that Mohammad Haris was included in the national team as a middle order batsman ahead of Shan Masood.
His comments come after Pakistan captain Babar Azam said that it would be unfair for Masood to bat in the middle order since he is an opener.
However, given that Haris opened the batting for the Peshawar Zalmi in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL), Latif said he “felt bad” that Masood was not presented with an opportunity while Haris got into the side for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.
In those three games, the 21-year-old batted twice and made scores of 6 and 0.
“Haris gets into the middle order based on his T20 performance. I didn’t like it. I felt bad,” Latif said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricwick.
Masood has been in phenomenal form over the last few months, especially during his county stint with Derbyshire.
He scored 1,074 runs in eight County Championship games, which included three centuries and four fifties, at an average of 82.61.
He also accumulated 547 runs in 14 T20 Blast games, which included five half-centuries, at an average of 45.58 and a strike-rate of 139.89.
The 32-year-old was recalled for the recent two-Test series against Sri Lanka, but didn’t feature in any of the matches.
Despite his form, he was not picked for Pakistan’s tour of the Netherlands or the Asia Cup.
Haris, meanwhile, was selected for the Netherlands series.
The men in green will play three ODIs against the Netherlands in Rotterdam from August 16 to 21.
As for the Asia Cup, it will be held in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.
Pakistan squad for Netherlands ODIs: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir