Wahab Riaz: “Unfortunately he has failed to deliver, coupled with the retirement of some players, which left us with no choice but to select him as there is no ready-made backup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz was forced to pick underperforming spinner Mohammad Nawaz for the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand since there was no one else to replace him.
Wahab pointed out that many players have retired, while others like Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed are currently injured, which led to him having no option but to stick with the 29-year-old.
Nawaz featured in the third T20I against the Black Caps and finished with figures of 1-44 off his four overs before scoring 28 runs.
“Nawaz has been playing for Pakistan for a long time and has performed in past. He is an experienced player, which will be important in New Zealand,” Wahab was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“But unfortunately he has failed to deliver, coupled with the retirement of some players, which left us with no choice but to select him as there is no ready-made backup.”
Pakistan have already lost their series against New Zealand as they are 3-0 down heading into the fourth T20I, which takes place on January 19 in Christchurch.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
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But he is still the best hitter we have so far lol