Inzamam-ul-Haq: “Shadab and Nawaz have been doing very well for Pakistan for the past two years. They have not been taking wickets in the middle and performing up to their own caliber but they have done so in the past and we have confidence in them”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Inzamam-ul-Haq, who recently resigned as Pakistan chief selector due to conflict of interest issues, is confident that spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz will regain their form soon.
The duo have come under immense criticism for their failure to take wickets regularly, which is their chief role in the team.
This was extremely prevalent in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup as Shadab took two wickets in six games at an average of 118.50 and an economy rate of 6.23.
As for Nawaz, he claimed two wickets in five matches at an average of 111.50 and an economy rate of 5.89.
While Inzamam acknowledged that the pair haven’t been making the breakthroughs needed in the middle overs, he pointed out that they have done well for the men in green over the last two years.
As a result, he stressed the need to back them instead of dropping them and bringing in other spinners.
“Shadab and Nawaz have been doing very well for Pakistan for the past two years. They have not been taking wickets in the middle and performing up to their own caliber but they have done so in the past and we have confidence in them,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan kicked off their World Cup campaign with victories over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before enduring a disastrous period that saw them lose to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
The men in green halted their losing run with back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, but it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, they lost their final group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match Test series against Australia, but neither Shadab nor Nawaz were picked in the 18-man squad.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will get underway on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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