Aaqib Javed: “Leaving out Sajid Khan, despite his stellar performances against England, was an extremely tough and difficult decision”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Interim Pakistan red-ball head coach Aaqib Javed has admitted that it was “an extremely tough and difficult decision” to drop spinner Sajid Khan for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.
Aaqib attributed it to the pace-friendly conditions in South Africa and insisted that it had nothing to do with Sajid’s performances, which he described as “stellar”.
Sajid made his Test comeback during the three-Test series against England in October 2024 and despite only featuring in the 2nd and 3rd Tests, he finished with 19 wickets, which included two five-wicket hauls, at an average of 21.10.
“Leaving out Sajid Khan, despite his stellar performances against England, was an extremely tough and difficult decision,” Aaqib was quoted as saying in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) press release.
Pakistan are currently in South Africa and lost the T20I series 2-0 before rebounding to claim a 3-0 victory in the ODIs.
The two-Test series between Pakistan and South Africa will begin 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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