Usman Shinwari suggests giving Babar, Shaheen rest after T20 elimination

HOUSTON: Usman Khan Shinwari, a Test fast bowler, has suggested giving senior players including skipper Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi some rest after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in T20 World Cup 2024.

The senior players continuously playing without taking rest had affected their performance and the new talent was not getting chance due to this, he believed.

Shinwari marvelled that the seniors did not sit on bench even in the matches against lower ranked teams like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Ireland while talking to Geo News.

He said such attitude of seniors had restricted the Pakistan cricket to 15 players. “[Because of them] the domestic cricketers are forced to emigrate,” he remarked, saying that the players from domestic cricket must be given chance to play for the national side.

The cricketer, currently living in the United States, also believed that selection on the basis of Pakistan Super League (PSL) performance should be stopped.

His comments came mainly in the backdrop of Pakistan's elimination from the T20 World Cup due to poor performance.

The Pakistan cricket team didn’t qualify for the Super Eight, which led to its elimination from the tournament. The team is facing criticism over their poor performance in the group stage matches.

The Green Shirts were defeated by debutants US by five runs in a Super Over tie and against India by six runs. They managed to win against Canada on June 11 by seven wickets.

With the match between the US and Ireland abandoned due to rain on June 14, the co-hosts secured one point, consequently ending Pakistan's hopes of proceeding in the tournament.

The national team's last league game against Ireland was only a formality, after which the squad returned home.

At least 7 Pakistanis to play in Canada League

On the other hand, Pakistan’s various international players have signed a deal with Global T20 Canada League soon after their World Cup journey ended.

The Canada cricket league features six teams and the tournament will begin on July 25.

Four Pakistani players, Babar, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan and Asif Ali, will play for Vancouver Knights. Shaheen and Mohammad Nawaz have joined Toronto Nationals, while Iftikhar Ahmed will feature in Bangla Tigers.