T20 World Cup 2022: He's Selected Because Ramiz Raja Likes Him - Saeed Ajmal's Huge Claim On Selection Of Mohammad Haris In Pakistan Team

The much-awaited T20 World Cup will be held in Australia from October 16 to November 13. For the marquee event, most of the teams have announced their squads.

Pakistan announced a 15-man squad led by Babar Azam. However, the left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman was left out of the World Cup squad and was picked as a standby player. On the other hand, promising prospect Shahnawaz Dahani has also been named as a standby player.

Besides, fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who missed the Asia Cup T20 due to injury, is back in the Pakistan team. Afridi’s return will strengthen the team.

Recently, Pakistan’s team selection for the T20 World Cup has faced a lot of criticism. Senior players like Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed were not picked despite their good performances in the domestic circuit.

Former Pakistan cricketer Saeed Ajmal criticised Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja for selecting young wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris in the team as a standby player.

Despite not playing a single T20I for the team, the 21-year-old was included in the team (as a reserve player) for the T20 World Cup. Haris played four ODIs for Pakistan, but failed to impress, scoring only 10 runs.

Mohammad Haris Is Ramiz Raja’s Choice – Saeed Ajmal

Ajmal made a huge claim on Haris’ selection as a standby, saying PCB chairman Ramiz Raja “likes” him and hence included Haris in the T20 World Cup team.

“Mohammad Haris is selected because he is Ramiz Raja’s choice, he is his favourite. Ramiz Raja likes him, that’s why they kept him,” Ajmal said on his official YouTube channel.

“If you want to go by performance, Sarfaraz (Ahmed) has been performing well in the (domestic) T20s. You could have kept him in the reserves,” he added.

The 44-year-old former cricketer said the board could have included Sharjeel Khan in the World Cup squad, who has been in good form in the ongoing National T20 Cup and scored an unbeaten century (107*) against Balochistan earlier this month.

The Green in Green will start their World Cup 2022 campaign against India on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Men in Green faced India in their tournament opener last year as well and beat arch-rivals India for the first time in World Cup history.

Also read: T20 World Cup 2022: This Will Be His Last Chance, Babar Azam Could Lose His Captaincy If Pakistan Fails To Perform – Danish Kaneria