Kamran Akmal: “There are so many youngsters available such as Mohammad Haris, who is a part of the T20 team and playing XI, and so is Rizwan. He is also an equally good option”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Kamran Akmal believes Mohammad Haris is an “equally good option” as first-choice Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan has cemented his place in ODIs and T20Is, while his spot in the Test team remains a little uncertain after he was replaced in the playing XI by Sarfaraz Ahmed.
However, Haris is a young cricketer who plays an aggressive style of cricket that is full of big shots.
While Pakistan could definitely use the firepower and play the 22-year-old as a specialist batsman, Akmal sees Haris as a perfect replacement should Rizwan not be available for any reason.
“There are so many youngsters available such as Mohammad Haris, who is a part of the T20 team and playing XI, and so is Rizwan. He is also an equally good option,” Akmal told Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series and Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series before featuring in the Asia Cup, where they failed to make it to the final.
Currently, the men in green are playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where Rizwan has been in superb form as he made 68 in the team’s 81-run win over the Netherlands before smashing a career-best 131 not not in the six-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s next match will be against India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali