Pakistan Cricket Team and Cricket Board accused of copying India vs Australia by Pakistan legend

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has opened up about the recently announced squads for the upcoming white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. Basit Ali also reacted to the new central contracts list for the 2024-25 international season, which was announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

On Sunday, October 27, the PCB revealed the white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of Australia. Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi made a comeback after missing the last two Tests against England. The Shan Masood-led team won the last two Test matches and secured the series by a 2-1 margin.

The PCB has appointed wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan as the new captain. Rizwan replaced Babar Azam as captain for the white-ball formats. Babar, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi will participate in both the ODI and T20I series in Australia but have been rested for the tour to Zimbabwe.

India's Approach Has Been Copied - Basit Ali

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali said that the squads are good, but there are a few names he would question. Ali highlighted that Pakistan has adopted an approach similar to India's for the first time, describing it as a good copy.

"The squads are good, except 3-4 names. Lekin pehli baar nazar aaya ke India ki copy ki gayi hai (for the first time it was seen that India's approach has been copied). It's not a bad thing, it's a good copy," said Basit in a video on his YouTube channel.

Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan Dropped From Pakistan Squads

Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan are notable omissions from the squads. Rizwan will lead the team on the tour of Australia and in the ODI series against Zimbabwe. The wicketkeeper-batter will not be part of the T20I series in Zimbabwe, where white-ball vice-captain Agha Salman will take over as skipper.

Shadab Khan has been included in central contracts, while Fakhar Zaman has been dropped from the list. This exclusion may be linked to Zaman's social media post supporting Babar Azam prior to the Test series against England. The PCB issued a show-cause notice to the left-handed opening batter.

How Could You Select Babar Azam In The T20 Squad - Basit Ali

Basit Ali said that the Pakistan central contracts were awarded based on performances in the domestic Champions Cup ODI tournament. He criticized the decision to include Babar in T20Is against Australia. Basit said that Rizwan should refuse to lead the T20I team with Babar present.

"Mazak Cup ki performance pe central contract diye gaye hain. Nobody will (dare) say that," said Basit.

"I got a call from Australia, they said we won't dismiss Babar Azam in T20Is. I got surprised, and asked 'Why?'. They said Aaqib Javed asked for that," he said.

"How could you select Babar in the T20 squad! The captain (Rizwan) demanded for it; that's the truth," said Basit, while adding that Rizwan must have said, "if no, then I won't become the captain."

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