Imad Wasim: “This mutual respect between us has always been there, and it is still there”
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Imad Wasim, the left-arm spinner, has shot down rumours of a persisting rift between him and Pakistan captain Babar Azam and insisted that they have “mutual respect” for each other.
Speculation about bad blood between the duo rose to prominence when Azam replaced the 34-year-old as captain of the Karachi Kings in the 2022 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
However, in PSL 8 in 2023, the 28-year-old was traded from the Kings to the Peshawar Zalmi and Imad was reinstated as captain.
Despite everything reported about them, Imad reiterated that he and Azam have no problem.
“When you play for the country, you keep other elements aside, and this is exactly what we did. We kept everything aside,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
“Needless to say, he [Babar] is the captain of Pakistan’s team, and I was rather playing as a player. This mutual respect between us has always been there, and it is still there. And when you play for the country, you are obliged to leave all of these things behind.”
Imad was not picked for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka or their three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
He also wasn’t selected for the ongoing Asia Cup, where the men in green started off their campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was rained off.
Having made it through to the Super Four stage, Pakistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets and then suffered their first loss as India demolished them by 228 runs.
Azam’s side will be looking to bounce back in their Super Four clash against Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: 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, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir