Pakistan will clash against Bangladesh on July 20, 22 and 24 before flying to Florida to play five T20Is against the West Indies. The report said that Hesson met all three stars, Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan, during preparatory sessions in Lahore and discussed his strategy for the selection
Babar Azam. Pic/AFP
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) men's selection committee has sidelined former captains Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi from the T20I squads for the upcoming tours of Bangladesh and the West Indies.
The selectors have decided not to include senior players after a brief chat with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha, according to a report in Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net).
Previously, under Rizwan's captaincy, Pakistan suffered a 2-0 defeat in South Africa, in which even Babar Azam made his appearance. After the series defeat, both were dropped from the national squad for the New Zealand and Bangladesh series.
“Pakistan’s management and selection committee want to move on from Babar and Rizwan despite Hesson and Salman both saying that the door was not shut on the two former openers, whose strike rate and batting form in T20Is were part of Pakistan’s problems in recent defeats,” a senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told www.telecomeasia.net.
The selection committee, which has the likes of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Sikander Bakht, have ensured that the squads for the three-match T20I series in Bangladesh and the West Indies will have none of these problematic players, the report stated.
Pakistan will clash against Bangladesh on July 20, 22 and 24 before flying to Florida to play five T20Is against the West Indies.
The report also claimed that Hesson had wanted Babar and Rizwan in the squad for the Bangladesh series, but former star Aaqib Javed refused to include them by saying that some youngsters should be tried in a relatively easier home series, sources said.
The report said that Hesson met all three stars, Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan, during preparatory sessions in Lahore and discussed his strategy for the selection and briefed them on his plans for the three players.
Sources also said skipper Salman Agha was against Shaheen's inclusion in the team as he wants to continue with his plans to try out youngsters and prepare a good backup.
Pakistan are also scheduled to play a T20I series with Afghanistan, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Australia to give their team some solid preparations for next year’s World Cup to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
(With IANS Inputs)
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