Usman Qadir: “When I inquired, they said Hafeez bhai is not agreeing. Since Hafeez bhai is the director, and he’s not agreeing, they can’t select me”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan spinner Usman Qadir has named former team director Mohammad Hafeez as the man responsible for blocking his return to the national team.
Qadir had performed well in the National T20 Cup, where he took 13 wickets in eight matches for the Lahore Region Blues at an average of 15 and an economy rate of 6.72.
Despite this, he didn’t earn a recall, even though he thought his prospects were quite high.
When enquiring about why he wasn’t selected for Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, Qadir learned that Hafeez didn’t want him selected.
“When I inquired, they said Hafeez bhai is not agreeing. Since Hafeez bhai is the director, and he’s not agreeing, they can’t select me. So, if you have personal preferences and performance doesn’t count, then I am quite far away from getting selected,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The Pakistan team took on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series in April 2024, which concluded as a 2-2 draw.
They then played three T20Is against Ireland and claimed a 2-1 win.
Right now, Pakistan are involved in a four-match T20I series against England, which is level at 0-0 after the first game was rained off.
After this, the men in green will feature in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will take place 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
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
[TS_Poll id=”40″]
Usman Qadir needs to perform and not blame Hafeez. Todate, he has not impressed the followers of the game in Pakistan.