Ahmed Shehzad: “People campaign for him but he didn’t do anything worthy”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan top order batsman Ahmed Shehzad has admitted that big-hitter Mohammad Haris doesn’t deserve to be in the T20I team as he hasn’t done “anything worthy”.
Haris has featured in nine T20Is to date and scored 126 runs at an average of 14 and a strike-rate of 127.27.
Shehzad pointed out that the 23-year-old was likely rushed into the squad, which is disappointing to see, especially since there are other players who have performed for many years and are still waiting for a chance.
“I think Mohammad Haris doesn’t have any performances so he didn’t make the cut [for the Ireland T20Is]. He made a 50 in [the] PSL and then he was brought in [the Pakistan Team]. People campaign for him but he didn’t do anything worthy – scored 23 and 25 in [the] World Cup. People struggle for eight, ten years but still don’t get an opportunity,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“People say let him play four-day cricket. None of the departments picked [him] up and people are still campaigning for him. Believe me, this will backfire on him. All these campaigns against all these players will go against them.”
Haris wasn’t picked for Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw.
The men in green then took on Ireland in a three-match T20I series and claimed a 2-1 win.
Next up for them will be four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Following this, they will feature in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
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