SHAHID AFRIDI NAMES THREE PLAYERS THAT ARE IGNORED FOR PAKISTAN’S TOUR TO SRILANKA

PAKISTAN’S TOUR TO SRI LANKA 2023:

Shahid Afridi, the former captain of Pakistan has shared his views regarding the selection of Pakistan’s TEST team, he named three players that are not selected for the team even though they deserved their inclusion.

Pakistan’s TEST tour to Srilanka is the first assignment of Pakistan in the next World Test Championship Cycle and the squad for that tour that is scheduled to be played in the next month is announced but Afridi has concerns about some players that he thinks should’ve been included in the Pakistan team.

The former captain of Pakistan expressed his concern regarding the inclusion of three players in Pakistan’s TEST team, he thinks that Abid Ali, Usman Salahuddin, and Zahid Mahmood should’ve been included in Pakistan’s TEST squad for the tour to Srilanka.

‘’ We developed a Test player, he fell ill, completed his treatment, and recovered. Where is that player? I am talking about Abid Ali. I don’t understand why you have kept two left-arm spinners in the team. There was a leg spinner named Zahid Mahmood, Where is he? ‘’. Afridi questioned the PCB selection committee.

Shahid Afridi has questioned the policy of Pakistan and asked about the pathway for players to be picked for Pakistan because he thinks that once a player gets injured, it is very difficult for a player to be back in the squad of the Pakistan team.

‘’ The rest of the squad is fine, but our players get out of the team for a while due to injuries, and then they struggle to find a place again in the squad ‘’, he added.

Shahid Afridi has further questioned the inclusion of Usman Salahuddin, one of the most prolific run scorers in domestic cricket of Pakistan, and has also made his debut for Pakistan but he wasn’t able to retain his spot in the Pakistan team. Shahid Afridi expressed his concern about this approach during the selection of players as he thinks that players don’t get enough consistent chances to players.

‘’ In my opinion, Usman Salahuddin has played for Pakistan previously and had some great performances but I don’t know why he is not picked. I mean you give chances to completely new players, you don’t give chances to the players you have invested in and they don’t seem to be noticed ‘’, he further added.

ABID ALI:

Abid Ali was one of the best TEST openers in Pakistan, he played 16 TESTS for Pakistan and scored 1180 runs at an average of almost 50. He scored three fifties and four centuries for Pakistan in TEST cricket but was diagnosed with a heart problem in a domestic match, even after his treatment he couldn’t make it into the TEST squad of Pakistan.

USMAN SALAHUDDIN:

Usman Salahuddin is one of the highest runs scorer in domestic cricket in Pakistan but has never got enough opportunities to show his talent for Pakistan in international cricket. He is one of the technically sound batsmen in Pakistan.

The classy right-handed batsman has scored more than 9000 runs in first-class cricket, he has scored 53 fifties, and 28 centuries in domestic cricket at an average of around 50, but wasn’t picked in the squad of Pakistan after 2018, and he has played one test match for Pakistan.

ZAHID MAHMOOD:

Zahid Mahmood is a part of Pakistan’s TEST squad for a long time but has only played two tests for Pakistan, he was also included in the team during Pakistan’s last series but he was dropped for the Pakistan tour to Srilanka, maybe he couldn’t impress the selectors and management in the chances he got to play for Pakistan. He has played two TESTS for Pakistan and has picked up 12 wickets at an average of 36.

PAKISTAN’S TOUR TO SRILANKA:

A 16-men TEST squad has already been announced for Pakistan’s tour to Srilanka which will begin next month. Pakistan will play two-match TEST series in Srilanka, the schedule of the test series is as follows;

16 – 20 JULY (FIRST TEST)
24 – 28 JULY (SECOND TEST)

The test team from Pakistan will travel to Srilanka in the second week of July, and the test team of Pakistan is as follows;

BABAR AZAM ©	MUHAMMAD RIZWAN
ABDULLAH SHAFIQUE	ABRAR AHMED
NASEEM SHAH	IMAM UL HAQ
NAUMAN ALI	MUHAMMAD NAWAZ
SALMAN ALI AGHA	MUHAMMAD HURAIRA
SHAHEEN SHAH AFRIDI	AMIR JAMAL
HASSAN ALI	SARFARAZ AHMED
SAUD SHAKEEL	SHAN MASOOD