Umar Gul: “In my opinion, Ihsanullah and Wasim should be given chances in the Asia Cup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Umar Gul admitted that he wanted to see the Pakistan pace duo of Ihsanullah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr in action regularly during the Asia Cup.
The tournament is currently being jointly held by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but while Wasim Jnr is in the squad, he didn’t feature in Pakistan’s opening fixture, which saw them obliterate Nepal by 238 runs.
Ihsanullah, meanwhile, is seen as one of Pakistan’s hottest fast bowling prospects but was not picked in the squad.
Gul sees this as a mistake by the selectors since he feels Ihsanullah should have gotten the opportunity to show what he can do in ODIs ahead of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
“In my opinion, Ihsanullah and Wasim should be given chances in the Asia Cup,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Prior to the Asia Cup, Pakistan played two Tests against Sri Lanka, but neither Wasim Jnr nor Ihsanullah were included in the squad.
As for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, Wasim Jnr played one game while Ihsanullah was once again not selected.
Pakistan’s next Asia Cup match will be against India on September 2 in Pallekele.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir