Imad Wasim and Babar Azam
Imad Wasim and Babar Azam. Image Credits:Twitter

Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam and bowling all-arounder, Imad Wasim were seen battling it out in the nets at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, during the training camp ahead of the New Zealand T20I series.

The duo allegedly share a long history of tussling between them, especially when the captaincy role was taken by Babar from Imad of Karachi Kings (KK) in the PSL.

Imad Wasim and Babar Azam
Imad Wasim and Babar Azam. Image Credits: Twitter

Wasim, who returned to the Pakistan side in the recently-held T20I series against Afghanistan, couldn’t secure a position in the ODI squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand, despite making his place into the 15-member squad for the T20 series, starting on April 14th,2022, in Rawalpindi.

Reports suggested that captain Babar Azam didn’t vote in Imad Wasim’s favour owing to the ODI squad, which led to the left-hander being ignored by the national selection committee. Both the players were captaining different sides in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 after Babar ahead of the 8th edition of PSL moved to Peshawar Zalmi.

“It is not like that. Everything that comes on media, is sometimes true, and sometimes it is not. I don’t want to talk about Babar, because the way our team is playing, we need to focus on results,” Imad said during PSL 2023.

Senior pros like Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan all returned to the squad after being rested for the Afghanistan series. Three young guns – Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, and Zaman Khan – have been retained in the T20I squad, while Ihsanullah has also been added to the ODI squad for the first time in his career.

Earlier, former Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter, Kamran Akmal questioned Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for Umar Akmal’s non-selection after the squad was announced for the T20Is against New Zealand.

Kamran also suggested the board and skipper keep their personal agendas aside while selecting the team, whereas,  Umar is also the cousin of the Pakistani skipper.

Umar has not featured for the Men in Green for the last 3-4 years and played his last game for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 2019. Earlier, he faced a two-year ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for failing to report corruption issues.
Pakistan is set to face New Zealand in the upcoming T20I series (PAK vs NZ) with senior campaigners ready to make an early impact. The Shadab Khan-led side lost the T20I series (1-2) in the UAE.