ICC T20 World Cup 2022: "Babar Azam Would Have Gotten A Lot Of Support" - Shahid Afridi On Shoaib Malik's Omission From Pakistan's T20 World Cup Squad

Shoaib Malik’s last chance to represent Pakistan got buried as the selectors blatantly ignored him. The veteran batter’s absence hurt Men in Green in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. We all have seen that Pakistan Cricket Team collapsed in the final of the Asia Cup tournament. Pakistan is too much reliant on their openers to win matches, but we should not forget that winning championships requires teamwork which was missing.

Shoaib Malik may not have the age on his side but we have seen in franchise leagues that he is still fit and roaring to go. Malik had also captained Pakistan in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup. He could have been a lot of help for Babar Azam in tough times. Malik has shown to the world cricket that he has the game plan for every tricky situation which is priceless.

Shahid Afridi on Shoaib Malik

Shahid Afridi was seen interacting with Samaa TV and was quite vocal when asked about Shoaib Malik. He has played cricket across the globe and has done well everywhere. He is a top choice for every franchise. He is also supremely fit. Babar Azam would have gotten a lot of support if Malik had been there, even if he was on the bench,” said Afridi.

“The selectors should have communicated with him if he wasn’t a part of their plans,” said Afridi. Shoaib Malik hasn’t played a single T20I match since the 2021 T20 World Cup Semi-Final.

Middle Order Conundrum

Pakistan Cricket Team has made a surprise change in their squad as they have dropped Fakhar Zaman and in his place included Shan Masood. It would be interesting to see at what position Shan bats as most of the time he has opened in T20s. PCB has made it clear that they are not going to change the opening partnership of Babar & Rizwan.

It looks like once again Pakistan is sticking to the template of top order show only. The likes of Nawaz & Iftikhar have shown promise but they are not consistent which is hurting the management. The management should stop playing musical chairs in the middle order as it’s not a sustainable option when T20 World Cup 2022 is just a month away.

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