Misbah-Ul-Haq Defends The Omission Of Senior Pacemen From Pakistan's Central Contracts List

Pakistan’s coach and selector Misbah-Ul-Haq took some eye-catching decisions on Wednesday as the central contracts for the 2020-21 season was released. One of the most glaring ones were the exclusion of Pakistan’s most decorated and senior pacemen, which has come into question. The former captain answered his critics and defended that particular decision by giving plausible explanations.

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The likes of Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, and Mohammad Amir were left out of the distinguished list. Reportedly, the omission agitated Hasan Ali, who posted a cryptic tweet but discarded it soon enough. The Punjab-born responded to the backlash of dropping them by saying that the trio would nevertheless be considered for selection.

The 45-year old justified Hasan’s axing by elucidating his injury problems ever since the World Cup. He explained the exclusion of Amir and Wahab, mentioning that their priority seemed white-ball cricket. But Misbah suggested them integral to Pakistan’s success as they possess a vast amount of experience and as a mentor-figure. It is widely believed that Amir and Wahab have borne the brunt of quitting red-ball version to prolong their limited-overs careers.

“The selectors have made the tough decisions to leave out Aamir, Hasan and Wahab but considering Hasan missed most of the season due to an injury and Aamir and Wahab decided to focus on white-ball cricket, this was the right move.” the 45-year old said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Misbah-Ul-Haq rules out any personal vendetta against the players:

The former skipper conceded that the men, who made it to their central contract list, have based on simple and straightforward criteria. The management analysed their performances over the past year and made decisions according to what the team needs in the future.

“The philosophy and criteria for this merit-based central contract list was simple and straightforward: the selectors reviewed player performances in the past 12 months and then looked ahead to our team requirements in the forthcoming 12 months.” Misbah-Ul-haq concluded.

Also Read: Hasan Ali Posts Cryptic Tweet After PCB Central Contract Snub, Later Deletes It