LAHORE: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam on Monday revealed the reason for the exclusion of all-rounder Aamir Jamal and wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Haris from the national squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and England.
During the team’s pre-departure press conference, Azam clarified the reasons for excluding Jamal and Haris from the upcoming series, leading to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
“I agree that Haris didn’t get many opportunities after the T20 World Cup [in 2022]. However, he got the chance during [Pakistan Super League] PSL 9 but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to perform there,” Babar Azam stated.
He further shed light on the fact that Haris is a top-order player, and the Pakistan team has a settled top-order, which is also a reason for Haris’ exclusion.
“Haris plays in the top order which already includes me, [Mohammad] Rizwan, Saim [Ayub] and Fakhar [Zaman] which is why there were limited opportunities for him” he added.
The star-batter also acknowledged Aamir Jamal’s talent as an all-rounder but clarified that his best performances came in Test cricket and a player cannot be selected for T20I based on Test performance.
“Aamir Jamal performed in Test cricket and Test performance cannot be compared with T20s. He is a fine all-rounder. He needs some more time and more matches under his belt which will get him further polished for T20 cricket,” he concluded.
It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistan men’s cricket team is currently participating in a three-day training session here ahead of their three-match T20I series against Ireland.
The team is scheduled to depart for Dublin on 7 May, where they will play three T20Is at Clontarf on 10, 12, and 14 May 2024. All three matches will start at 3 PM local time.
The three-match away series, followed by four T20Is in England, will serve as a stepping stone for the Green Shirts to boast their preparations for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
Pakistan squad for Ireland and England T20Is
Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan.
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