Shadab Khan: “There’s no space for friendships in [the] Pakistan team. If that was the case, then wouldn’t Babar have preferred his brothers to play in the team?”
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Shadab Khan, the Pakistan spinner, said if friendships existed in the national team, captain Babar Azam would pick his brothers to play.
He added that with social media being prominent, it is impossible for anything to remain a secret.
“There’s no space for friendships in [the] Pakistan team. If that was the case, then wouldn’t Babar have preferred his brothers to play in the team? We are living in the social media era, and nothing can stay hidden in today’s world,” the 24-year-old limited overs vice-captain was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Shadab was not selected for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka as he has not played the longest format since August 2020. However, he did feature in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, where he took four wickets at an average of 23.75.
The Mianwali native recently represented Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where he claimed six wickets in five games at an average of 40.83.
Pakistan started their campaign with a brutal 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was washed out.
Despite this, the men in green still advanced to the Super Four stage and proceeded to batter Bangladesh by seven wickets.
However, their unbeaten streak was ended when India pummelled them by 228 runs.
Pakistan still had a chance to reach the Asia Cup final after their loss to India, but missed out as Sri Lanka beat them by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 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:Â Tayyab Tahir