Yasir Hameed: “Should have been part of any team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan batsman Yasir Hameed believes it was a mistake for all the Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams to ignore fast bowler Ihsanullah during the player draft for PSL 10.
Ihsanullah shot to fame during the 2023 PSL, known as PSL 8, when he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets in 12 matches for the Multan Sultans at an average of 15.77.
He was quickly catapulted into the Pakistan team and went on to play four T20Is, where he claimed six wickets at an average of 18.
The 22-year-old was also given the opportunity to make his ODI debut but went wicketless in the match.
However, things went completely downhill for Ihsanullah after this as he sustained an elbow injury which was not properly diagnosed. It also turned out that he had a shoulder issue and has thus not played any international cricket since April 2023.
The Matta native made his long-awaited comeback during the Champions T20 Cup, but only managed to take two wickets in four matches for the Dolphins at an average of 62.50.
Just a few days ago, Ihsanullah announced that he would be retiring from all franchise cricket, but reversed that decision less than 24 hours later.
Despite what has happened, Hameed feels one of the PSL franchises should have selected him as he stole the spotlight in PSL 8 for bowling at speeds over 150 kph.
“Should have been part of any team,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Pakistan team recently toured Australia and won the ODI series 2-1 before being crushed 3-0 in the T20Is.
They then went to Zimbabwe and came away with a 2-1 win in both the ODI and T20I series.
As for the tour of South Africa, Pakistan lost the T20I series 2-0 before bouncing back to secure a 3-0 victory in the ODIs.
In the two-Test series that followed, the men in green were whitewashed 2-0.
Pakistan are now taking on the West Indies in a two-Test series, which began on January 17 in Multan.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha
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