Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif came down hard on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi, and head of selection committee Haroon Rasheed for their decision to rest captain Babar Azam and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan amongst others for the upcoming three T20Is against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
Pakistan and Afghanistan will play three T20Is in Sharjah on March 24, 26, and 27 and the PCB selection committee decided to rest a bunch of senior players for this assignment and has named Shadab Khan as the captain of the new-look team.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, along with Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi has been rested for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah. Also missing out on the action will be Haris Rauf.
It was reported by Cricket Pakistan that PCB Management Committee chairman, Najam Sethi, contacted Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi, and Fakhar Zaman on Sunday and informed them that they will be given rest.
When You Bring New Players, You Break A Team Combination: Rashid Latif On PCB Resting Babar Azam And Co.
However, this decision to rest the first-choice players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, and others didn’t sit well with former captain Rashid Latif. He has made a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee chairman, Najam Sethi, and Chief Selector, Haroon Rasheed, for destroying the Pakistan team’s combination.
“Our players are featuring in ICC rankings and winning awards after a long time. Babar and Shaheen won ICC awards. They [PCB] couldn’t digest it. They said we won’t let it happen and now we are here and will take decisions. Those who never took rest and are 70 or 80-year-old and need to rest, are now deciding the fate of Pakistan cricket. You can say rest in peace Pakistan team. Our team is now resting in peace,” Latif was quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
He also accused and slammed the PCB management for trying to organize a divide-and-rule campaign against the senior players of the Pakistan team.
“When you bring new players, you break a team combination. Some new players, who are selected, will perform in the Afghanistan series, so will they bring back the senior players back with lesser strike rate. Media will also put pressure on them. This is the first step towards destroying Pakistan team,” he added.
Pakistan squad: Shadab Khan (C), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.
Reserves: Haseebullah, Usama Mir, Abrar Ahmed