Pak vs SA: Babar Azam 'thoroughly disappointed' with squads for African tour, says report

LAHORE: Skipper Babar Azam is reportedly unhappy with the selection of national squad for the upcoming South Africa and Zimbabwe tours, and has conveyed his reservations to chief selector Mohammad Wasim, it emerged on Tuesday.

According to a report in Dawn, the skipper was not impressed with the recently announced squads.

The report said that Babar Azam was taken by “surprise” when the players for the upcoming series were announced and shared his concerns in his close circles.

He may even talk to the top bosses of the Pakistan Cricket Board on the matter, the report added.

“Babar Azam feels there are way too many changes in the T20 Squad,” the English daily said while quoting a source close to the player.

The skipper, the report said, is of the view that some squad players did not get enough or any game time in the last series and, therefore, it was unfair to drop them altogether.

The national selection panel is under fire since the squads were announced for the upcoming tour.

Experts and former cricketers have also expressed their reservations on the exclusion of some players, especially Imad Wasim, whom Babar Azam desperately wanted to be in the team.

The paper further quoted the source as saying that Babar Azam was left "thoroughly disappointed".

However, Mohammad Wasim has denied reports that there were any differences on the selection matters.

Squads:

Twenty20: Babar Azam (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Arshad Iqbal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir

ODIs: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Danish Aziz, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir

Tests: Babar Azam (captain), Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Imran Butt, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dhani, Tabis Khan, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood