Aaqib Javed: “I haven’t seen Faheem progress that well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Aaqib Javed, the Lahore Qalandars head coach, doesn’t think that Pakistan should pick all-rounder Faheem Ashraf as he hasn’t made enough progress as of late.
The 51-year-old noted that he wanted to see some improvement from the 29-year-old, but it hasn’t been enough.
Faheem is one of the talented fast-bowling all-rounders Pakistan have, but he has only been selected sporadically lately since his performances have been inconsistent.
As a result, Aaqib feels the men in green should consider alternative options.
“I haven’t seen Faheem progress that well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
Faheem was selected for the Asia Cup, but didn’t do well in the two games he played against Bangladesh and India as he only managed to muster four runs and take one wicket.
Before the Asia Cup, Pakistan crushed Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series and pummelled Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
Faheem wasn’t included in Pakistan’s squad for the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India. Instead, the Kasur native is playing for Faisalabad in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is Pakistan’s first-class competition.
The men in green started their World Cup campaign with an 81-run win over the Netherlands before defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets, during which they chased down 345, making it the highest successful run chase in World Cup history.
However, Pakistan couldn’t maintain their flawless run as they lost to India by seven wickets.
They will now face Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru.
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