Sohaib Maqsood: “Sajid Khan dropped from Test Squad [for the] South Africa tour. I know it’s difficult to go with 2 spinners in [the] playing XI in South Africa but dropping [him] from a whole squad is [a] very poor decision”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan batsman Sohaib Maqsood believes it was a “very poor decision” to drop spinner Sajid Khan for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.

Sajid made his Test comeback during Pakistan’s three-Test series against England in October 2024 and was lethal with the ball.

He only featured in the 2nd and 3rd Tests, but finished with 19 wickets, which included two five-wicket hauls, at an average of 21.10.

Considering how effective the 31-year-old was, Maqsood admitted it doesn’t make sense why the selectors would drop him, even if the conditions in South Africa are more pace-friendly.

“Sajid Khan dropped from Test Squad [for the] South Africa tour. I know it’s difficult to go with 2 spinners in [the] playing XI in South Africa but dropping [him] from a whole squad is [a] very poor decision,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sajid was not part of Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and Zimbabwe.

As for the ongoing tour of South Africa, the men in green lost the T20I series 2-0 before bouncing back to claim a 3-0 win in the ODIs.

The two-Test series between Pakistan and South Africa will start on December 26 in Centurion.

Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)

Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)

Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha

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