Shoaib Malik: “If his social media (presence and following) had been strong then he definitely would have played for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. There would have been an uproar if he hadn’t played for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik believes mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed would have played in the 2024 T20 World Cup if he had a lot of followers on social media.
He noted that if the 25-year-old had a big online presence, “there would have been an uproar” if he sat on the bench for the entire tournament.
Pakistan stuck with Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim as their go-to spinners in the T20 World Cup, even though the former didn’t take any wickets in the four matches he played.
As for Imad, he finished with three wickets in three games at an average of 14.66 and an economy rate of four.
Abrar was part of Pakistan’s squad for the competition, but didn’t get the chance to play in any of the matches.
“If his social media (presence and following) had been strong then he definitely would have played for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. There would have been an uproar if he hadn’t played for Pakistan,” Malik was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Pakistan began their T20 World Cup campaign with back-to-back losses to the United States of America and India before fighting back to beat Canada and Ireland.
Despite winning those two games, it was not enough to secure them a place in the Super Eights.
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