Did Sana Mir take a jibe at chief selector Mumtaz after being left out of T20 World Cup?

It was assumed that former skipper was left out as she announced a break from cricket last year

By Web Desk
January 21, 2020
Sana Mir, who is Pakistan's second-highest wicket-taker in World T20Is, was left out of the country's 15-member squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 when it was announced earlier this week.—File photo

When Sana Mir's name was not in Pakistan Women's squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, it was assumed that it was done according to her wish as she decided to take a break from international cricket last year.

However, women's chief selector Urooj Mumtaz, in her press conference, had later confirmed that Sana had been axed owing to her inferior performance in recent T20 series.

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"Sana has been a phenomenal servant of Pakistan cricket while being an inspiration to many girls out there. Unfortunately, her recent performances in the T20 format were not on her side," the selector said.

Captain Bismah Maroof, meanwhile, had taken a more diplomatic approach, saying that dropping Sana was not her choice.

"It was a tough decision to leave out Sana Mir. I wanted to have her in the squad over which I, along with the selection committee, had deep deliberations. We had to decide between her and the emerging players who had been impressing on all the stages," Bismah was quoted as saying.

"I respect and support the decision of the major group and hope she will continue to serve Pakistan women's cricket in future with the same passion and energy."

Following Urooj and co's decision, Sana took to Twitter to take a veiled dig, saying: "Don't blame a clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus."

It was not clear who "the clown" she referred to was, but the timing of her tweet made it clear that it was Sana's reaction to the development.

As pointed out by ESPN, Sana's numbers have been inferior to other, younger spinner Anam Amin. However, Sana can also bat a little (averages 14 in T20Is) while her experience and leadership could be valuable at the highest stage — arguments that put the equation back in balance.

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