PAK vs SA: Pakistan Pay The Price For Poor Call As Misbah-ul-Haq Reveals Captain And Management Rejected His Suggestion
Published - 25 Oct 2023, 04:16 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:21 AM
As Pakistan‘s spinners continue to struggle in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, their former captain Misbah-ul-Haq has revealed he wanted mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the squad.
Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usama Mir are the three designated spinners in Pakistan’s World Cup squad and all of them have struggled in the competition. Both Shadab and Nawaz have picked only 2 wickets in 4 games while Usama has taken 1 wicket in 2 games. Pakistan’s spinners were struggling for quite some time now.
Their performance in the Asia Cup last month was not impressive either. After Shadab consistently failed to pick up wickets and maintain a good economy rate, reports suggested that Abrar Ahmed might replace him in the World Cup squad. The Pakistan selectors, however, decided to show faith in the player but he is yet to justify the decision.
Misbah-ul-Haq wanted Abrar Ahmed in the World Cup squad:
Following Pakistan spinners’ struggle in the World Cup, Misbah-ul-Haq has said that he wanted Abrar Ahmed to be a part of the team. The spinner is yet to play any ODI but has already made his debut for Pakistan in Tests. Speaking to a local media channel, the former Pakistan captain, who is also a member of PCB’s cricket technical committee, said:
“Our [cricket committee] viewpoint was to include a mystery spinner especially when you are playing with different teams since it is not a series. Most of them would be playing for the first time.
“We suggested keeping Abrar Ahmed in the squad keeping in mind, our spin bowling is not in good form and didn’t do well in the Asia Cup,” added Misbah-ul-Haq. “Team management and captain’s decision is more important in this regard.”
Pakistan are presently at the fifth spot in the points table with 2 wins and 3 defeats. In their last outing, they suffered a humiliating 8-wicket loss against Afghanistan. The loss has dealt a huge blow to Pakistan’s aspirations of qualifying for the semifinals for the first time since 2011. Their next game is against high-flying South Africa who are at the second spot in the points table.
