Ramiz Raja: “We did it in the last T20 World Cup (selecting Shoaib Malik). I don’t have any problem doing it again”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has insisted that he was never against selecting veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The men in green have been trying to find the right batsmen to solve their middle order woes.
So far, they haven’t been successful, which has resulted in some people calling for Malik to return to the team as he has a lot of experience and has been a solid performer in domestic cricket.
In the recent National T20 Cup, Malik scored 204 runs in nine matches for Central Punjab, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 29.14 and a strike-rate of 140.68.
Despite this, the 40-year-old was ultimately not included in Pakistan’s squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
However, Ramiz made it clear that this had nothing to do with him as he would have supported the selection of the senior cricketer had he been picked.
“We did it in the last T20 World Cup (selecting Shoaib Malik). I don’t have any problem doing it again. My philosophy is simple; you should have consistency in selection. You need a strong captain as well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan will start their T20 World Cup campaign against India on October 23 in Melbourne.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir
Dear NR RAMIZ RAJA with all due respect Shoaib Malik is as fit as anyone in the present Pakistani squad if not more. It almost tantamounts to a crime not to include him and by the time u realize this it will b simply too late and like the saying goes ways the use of crying over spilt milk. Now is thetime to act . It’s not a tall statement by any means.
Ramiz raja and Muhammad wasim both have done injustice with a lot of talented players on which basis khusdill Shah and m iftakhar have been selected for the world cup squad they both don’t deserve