Wahab Riaz: “We have monitored Azam Khan closely and preferred skills over fitness. The player being [a] match-winner is more important”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has confirmed that it was “skills over fitness” when it came to the selection of wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Wahab Riaz: “Shan is a very talented and skilful player and maybe in the future we can include him in the (T20) squad but this time around we just weren’t able to carve a space out for him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz conceded Test captain Shan Masood is “a very talented and skilful player”, but pointed out that there is simply no space for him in the T20I team.
Wahab Riaz: “We expect Shaheen to perform every day but [a] bad patch does happen. He is determined to do well. We should give him some time”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz is not overly concerned about T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s subpar bowling performances as of late, noting that every player goes through bad patches.
Wahab Riaz: “We’ve spoken to him and given him a clear message, we want to invest in him, but he has to respond as well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has expressed a willingness to invest in wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan going forward, but made it clear that he expects the big-hitter to pay dividends.
Wahab Riaz: “The previous management did not ask the players about their fitness levels. The logic behind this was that they pampered the players a lot. Some of the players couldn’t even run 2 km”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has slammed some of the national players for their poor fitness levels, saying they “couldn’t even run 2 km.”
Pakistan batsman Mohammad Haris: “Even I don’t know when and where I performed badly [in T20Is]. There are ups and downs. Sometimes, players in the back-up [roles] perform better than you, so they deserve a chance”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Attacking Pakistan batsman Mohammad Haris admitted he has no clue why he was dropped from the T20I team for the recent five-match series against New Zealand.
Wahab Riaz: “He has also worked considerably on his fitness. We have given him a clear message and once he returns from the tour you’ll see a difference in his fitness”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has defended wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan, stating that the 25-year-old has been working hard on his fitness.
Wahab Riaz: “We have received feedback regarding Dahani’s attitude. There have been complaints that he showed reluctance to bowl in [the] practice nets and attempted to avoid putting in the necessary hard work on some occasions”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz revealed that he has received complaints about fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani’s attitude and poor effort when training.
Wahab Riaz: “If Azam participates in a match, it will be in the capacity of a wicketkeeper and not as a fielder”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has made it clear that Azam Khan will only be picked as a wicketkeeper-batsman when playing for the national team.
Wahab Riaz: “Mohammad Nawaz brings experience to the squad. We also want him to do well going forward. He needs to be consistent going forward”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz said he and the rest of the selection committee want spinner Mohammad Nawaz to “do well going forward” as he is an important member of the national team.
