ICC T20 World Cup 2022: PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja Reveals Reason For Preferring Mohammad Haris Over Sarfaraz Ahmed

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Thursday, named a 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year in October-November. Speaking about the squad, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has revealed the reason for Mohammad Haris’ selection over veteran Sarfaraz Ahmed for the marquee event.

Raja admitted that Sarfaraz is a class act, but also put forth the importance of building a team for the future.

Mohammad Haris is a player for the future, reckons Ramiz Raja

Raja was quoted as saying in Cricket Pakistan, “It’s difficult to drop Sarfaraz Ahmed due to his services for Pakistan but we are planning for the future. Haris has been selected in the squad over Sarfaraz by keeping the future plans in mind,”

“I am not the chief selector but this decision seemed justified to me since Haris is a very talented player,” Raja added.

Mohammad Haris has featured in four ODIs for Pakistan, although he has been restricted to limited chances to showcase his prowess.

In T20 cricket, the right-handed middle-order batter has scored 434 runs from 22 matches at an average of 22.84 and a strike rate of 135.20 with two half-centuries to his name.

Mohammad Rizwan’s advent as wicketkeeper has taken a toll on Sarfaraz Ahmed’s chances

The emergence of Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s prime wicketkeeper didn’t help Sarfaraz by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as Sarfaraz is concerned, his career went downhill after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semis in the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. After losing captaincy in all three formats, Sarfaraz also lost his place in the team.

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