Wasim Akram: “For the last one year, we knew that the middle order is weak. This guy is sitting here, Shoaib Malik”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram has urged captain Babar Azam to pick senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the T20I team as the 40-year-old is just sitting around and waiting.
Malik is seen as a potential answer to Pakistan’s middle order problems as he has a wealth of experience and has still been performing well in domestic cricket.
Having tried a number of younger players, who have all failed to live up to expectations, Wasim said it’s time to stop the experiments and recall Malik.
“For the last one year, we knew that the middle order is weak. This guy is sitting here, Shoaib Malik, and my end goal as a captain is to win the World Cup. If I have to make a donkey my father to achieve that, I’ll do it, as winning the World Cup is my ultimate goal,” the Sultan of Swing said on A Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan recently drew their two-Test series against New Zealand 0-0 and will now play three ODIs against the Black Caps, which begins on Monday in Karachi.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand ODI series: Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir