Pakistan’s seasoned fast bowler Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir cut short their respective Test careers to focus on white-ball cricket. It came at a time when the sub-continent side was gearing up for a crucial Test series against Australia.
Bowling coach Waqar Younis said he was hurt but holds no grudge. Amir drew curtains on his Test career in July last year in a bid to extend his white-ball career and T20s across the world. Wahab followed suit in a few months; leaving Pakistan a lot to ponder upon.
Waqar Younis ‘hurt’ at the duo’s untimely retirement
“Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters,” Younis told the press during a video conference set-up the PCB. “We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. Misbah [-ul-Haq, the head coach and chief selector] spoke about this earlier about having a policy about players deciding what and what not to play.”
Australia went on to win both the Test matches by an innings. The likes of Imran Khan, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi featured in the first Test in Brisbane. In the second game, Mohammad Abbas and Muhammad Musa were picked in place of Khan and Shah.
Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir have a lot to offer: Waqar Younis
Waqar said not having experience in the bowling line-up did hurt them, but that is not an excuse for the humiliating losses. He adds that having the duo would have helped Pakistan pull off a better performance in the away series.
“It’s not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don’t have any grudge against them. I still feel they have a lot to contribute in white-ball cricket and they should carry on playing for Pakistan.” Waqar said.