Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has revealed the reason behind the omission of Shan Masood from the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup 2023. The 33-year-old was not selected for the team due to his string of poor performances in recent times in International Cricket.
The left-handed batter has scored only 163 runs in 9 ODIs, at an average of 18.11, and has hit just one half-century in the format. Shan Masood’s made comeback to the 2022 T20I World Cup side as a middle-order batsman has been the result of his brilliant form in all three formats but could continue his fine form as he was dropped from Pakistan’s 18-men squad for the Asia Cup 2023.
Speaking to the media, former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq said that Shan Masood’s performance in ODI cricket has gone down in recent times and revealed that the Left-handed batter is part of the Pakistan plans going but the other batters have impressed in recent times to make it into the Pakistan squad for the continental event.
“Shan has performed very well on the whole across formats. Unfortunately, his performances in ODIs have gone down. We have a list of 20-21 players, and Shan is part of that. But Saud Shakeel and a couple of other players were impressive recently, so we had to leave out Shan. But he is a part of our plans,” Inzamam-ul-Haq said.
Shan Masood was named as the vice-captain of Pakistan’s ODI team for the ODI series against New Zealand in January and the South Paw has performed consistently well for the team before losing form in recent times as they preferred to pick Mohammad Haris and Tayyab Tahir in the team.
He Is A Fast-Bowling All rounder, Which We Need At The World Cup – Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq revealed the reason behind picking Faheem Ashraf in the team, as he can play as a fast-bowling all-rounder in the team. He reiterated that he has been in good form in recent times playing in PSL and domestic cricket.
“Preference has been given to Faheem Ashraf since the squad doesn’t have another fast-bowling allrounder. If you look at PSL and other tournaments, he was in good form. And we need an allrounder, he is a fast-bowling allrounder, which we need at the World Cup,” Inzamam-ul-Haq added.
Faheem Ashraf can contribute with a few big shots as a lower-order left-handed batsman along with bowling skills and Ashraf can provide his team with breakthrough wickets and can be a key player for Pakistan going into the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023.
Pakistan’s 18-man squad:
Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Saud Shakeel (only for Afghanistan series), Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi.