Tanvir Ahmed: “I am the same person who said when Imam came into the team that it was a wrong decision, and today I say that dropping Imam from the ODI team is wrong”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed believes it was wrong for opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq to be dropped from the ODI team.
There had been speculation that Imam was in line for a recall for the ongoing ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be held from February 19 to March 9.
However, he ended up being overlooked despite having scored plenty of runs in domestic cricket.
During the Champions T20 Cup, the 29-year-0ld made 256 runs in nine matches for the Lions, which included two fifties, at an average of 32 and a strike-rate of 136.17.
As for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he finished as the third-highest run-scorer with 635 runs in five games for Multan Region, which included three centuries and a fifty, at an average of 79.37.
Tanvir recalled how he was against Imam being included in the Pakistan team when the opener made his international debut.
But after seeing what he has accomplished in ODI cricket, where he averages 48.27, Tanvir feels Imam should have never been axed in the first place.
“I am the same person who said when Imam came into the team that it was a wrong decision, and today I say that dropping Imam from the ODI team is wrong,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In addition to being overlooked for the ODI tri-series and Champions Trophy, Imam did not feature in Pakistan’s tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
He was recalled for the two-Test series against the West Indies in Multan, but wasn’t included in the playing XI for both matches.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah