Mohammad Amir: “Imad Wasim and Sarfaraz Ahmed should have been part of the squad”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir believes spin-bowling all-rounder Imad Wasim and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed both deserved to be in Pakistan’s team for the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The men in green have been having problems in the spin department, with Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz failing to take wickets regularly.
While Usama Mir has shown some potential, he has conceded quite a lot of runs for the number of wickets taken.
This is where Imad would have been useful as he has plenty of experience and was in top form in the recent Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he picked up 14 wickets in 11 matches for the Jamaica Tallawahs at an average of 19.71 and an economy rate of 7.16.
The 34-year-old was also the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 313 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 39.12.
As for Sarfaraz, he recently captained Karachi Region Whites to victory in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and led by example with the bat as he was the second-highest run-scorer with 697 runs in seven matches, which included two centuries and four fifties, at an average of 99.57.
Right now, the 36-year-old is playing in the Pakistan Cup and has made scores of 0 and 31.
“Imad Wasim and Sarfaraz Ahmed should have been part of the squad,” Amir was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan started the World Cup on a high as they took down the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
However, things fell apart from there as they lost to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
The men in green stopped their four-game skid and kept their World Cup semi-final hopes alive with victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Their last group stage game will be against England on November 11 in Kolkata.
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