LAHORE: Pakistan men’s cricket team’s Chief Selector Haroon Rasheed on Tuesday opened up regarding the possibility of Sarfaraz Ahmed’s inclusion in the squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup in India this year.
Although Sarfaraz Ahmed has proved his mettle in the Test format after making a remarkable comeback to the format in December, Chief Selector Haroon Rasheed insisted that his performance in the shorter format needs to be evaluated.
“As far as Sarfaraz Ahmed is concerned, he has given outstanding performance in Test cricket, there is no doubt about it, and that’s why you see him in the Test squad. But talking about his performance in One-Day and shorter formats, it is obviously premature,” said Rasheed in an interview with a local media outlet here.
Haroon Rasheed however pointed out that there is still plenty of time for evaluations and considerations and that no player should be written off at this point.
He added that each player’s skills and shortcomings will be carefully considered by the selectors when they meet to make the final decision on the team selection. Finding people who can prosper in the particular conditions anticipated in India would be their main focus.
“The Asia Cup is happening in Sri Lanka, and we don’t know what decision will be made for the World Cup in India. There are spin-friendly and slow pitches there, where you need batters who can play spinners well,” said Haroon Rasheed.
“So you can’t rule anyone out, but when we sit down for the final selection, we will weigh their good and bad points and see who can benefit us more in those conditions, and then decisions will be made,” he added.
It is worth mentioning here that Sarfaraz Ahmed last played an ODI for Pakistan back in 2021.
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