Haroon Rasheed: “Kamran Ghulam will also be included in our future plans”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Haroon Rasheed, the former chief selector, has confirmed that the Pakistan selectors haven’t forgotten about middle order batsman Kamran Ghulam.
Ghulam had been on the cusp of selection in the Test team’s playing XI on a couple of occasions, but it never happened.
His inclusion in the Test side came on the back of outstanding performances in domestic cricket, where he has a batting average of 45.80 after playing in 46 first-class matches.
The 27-year-old did make an appearance in an ODI against New Zealand in January 2023, but only as a concussion substitute for fellow middle order batsman Haris Sohail.
Nonetheless, Rasheed reiterated that Ghulam still remains in the selectors’ plans for the future.
“Kamran Ghulam will also be included in our future plans,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The Pakistan team recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before thrashing Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
The men in green are now involved in the Asia Cup, where they began their campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal.
After that, they shared one point apiece with India as their match was rained off after India scored 266 in their innings.
Having made it through to the Super Four stage, Pakistan continued to shine as they took down Bangladesh by seven wickets in Lahore.
However, their unbeaten run was ended when India thrashed them by 228 runs.
Pakistan will now take on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Should they triumph, they will advance to the Asia Cup final, where they will face India on September 17 in the Sri Lankan capital.
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