Former Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq has voiced a great desire for the mysterious spinner Abrar Ahmed to be selected for Pakistan’s team for the ODI World Cup. The Men in Green spinners could not make an impact in the marquee event failing to utilise the spin-friendly condition in India.
During Pakistan’s home Test series against England the year before, Abrar Ahmed caught the attention of the experts and fans. The leg-spinner is faster in the air than Shadab Khan and impressed everyone with his skill set. The young cricketer has played in six Test matches but has already taken 38 wickets.
In a recent interview, Misbah-ul-Haq emphasized how important having Abrar is, especially while competing in the World Cup format against other teams because it isn’t a typical series, and then highlighted Pakistan’s poor spin bowling performance, highlighting how it had fallen short of expectations during the recently concluded 2023 Asia Cup.
“Our [cricket committee] viewpoint was to include a mystery spinner especially when you are playing with different teams since it is not a series. Most of them would be playing for the first time,” Misbah-ul-Haq said.
“We suggested keeping Abrar Ahmed in the squad keeping in mind, that our spin bowling is not in good form and didn’t do well in the Asia Cup, Team management and the captain’s decision is more important in this regard,” Misbah-ul-Haq added.
Pakistan’s main flaw has been its spin. Notably, the 1992 champions shared the tasks of their finger spinner with all-rounders Iftikhar and Mohammad Nawaz, while wrist spinners Shadab Khan and Usama Mir failed to make valuable contributions to the Pakistan team in the ongoing ODI World Cup in India.
The Men in Green had a successful start to the competition with victories over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their first two games. However, they endured a string of reverses at the hands of Afghanistan, Australia, and India.
Pakistan’s 2023 World Cup campaign has so far been characterised by a glaring underperformance. With only two wins from five games, the Men in Green will have a tough time making it to the semifinals.
Babar Azam’s leadership was in the spotlight after Pakistan’s defeat by Afghanistan as they were talking about the change in the captain after the completion of the marquee event.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Sarfaraz Ahmed are being discussed as potential successors to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as captain after the national team returns from the World Cup in India. The Men in Green is scheduled to travel to Australia right after the World Cup.
