Inzamam ul Haq is not happy with how things have panned out after the announcement of the Pakistan squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe by Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim.
While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Inzamam ul Haq revealed that skipper Babar Azam is unhappy after his suggestions were ignored while selecting the team.
Inzamam ul Haq: Babar Azam Isn’t Impressed By Selection And Mohamad Wasim Says It’s Not Concerning Which Is Surprising
Babar Azam was reportedly was keen on the selection of talented players such as Ammad Butt, Aamer Yameen, and Iftikhar Ahmad but all of them were ignored in the final selection. He is not happy with the axing of Kamran Ghulam who scored the most runs in the current domestic season. He is also of the view that the inclusion of Shahnawaz Dhani is quite premature as he has just played one domestic season so far and at best merit the T20 squad but certainly not the Test side.
“The important thing is that team is selected with consultation and I have already said many times that the most important person is the captain. Chief selector and coach are not the most important people because they can’t go inside the ground and the captain who has to make the team fight inside he should have the confidence,” said Inzamam ul Haq.
“Babar Azam is not impressed with the team selection and Mohammad Wasim is saying it’s not your concern. How can Mohammad Wasim say such a thing to Babar Azam? This is surprising. Now, where are those statements of Mohammad Wasim and the policies of the board saying that the captain will have the full authority and will have the main role in the selection?” he added.
He wanted Imad Wasim in the T20I Squad but selectors replaced him with Mohammad Nawaz in all three formats while talented spinner Zahid Mehmood was also dropped from the T20 Squad despite his fine performance against South Africa in home series which has irked Babar Azam no end.
The skipper was also in favour of Shan Masood’s selection for the Zimbabwe Test series after the failure of openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali in the home series against South Africa but the selectors chose to ignore him on the basis of just one bad tour of New Zealand which is unjust, to say the least.
Inzamam ul Haq Also Lashes Out At Pakistan Cricket Board
Inzamam ul Haq also lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for remaining silent on the controversy.
“I am sometimes unable to understand that what this board is actually doing. Every decision of the board is incorrect. They postponed the PSL which surprised me, IPL had 10 Covid-19 cases but they completed the tournament. They are unaware of what will happen to Pakistan’s image due to the closure of PSL. Babar Azam is unhappy, Mohammad Wasim is saying something else and the board is silent,” he said.
“I am telling you this thing categorically that Mohammad Wasim has been made the chief selector by some people and those powers are controlling him. The board should open their eyes and should think about what they want to do with cricket. You have won the last T20 series and you have still made five to six changes.”
“Five to six changes have been made in ODIs and players that are selected have played just two to three matches. This is not the standard of Pakistan cricket. The player who bowled well in two matches of PSL is selected, is this the standard of Pakistan cricket. It feels like everything is being done by the board from behind,” Inzamam ul Haq concluded.