ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket selectors have sprung a surprise making three changes in the World Cup team announced almost a month back with Wahab Riaz’s inclusion coming out of nowhere.
Chief selector Inzamamul Haq was seen eating up his words by defending Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali and Wahab’s inclusion in the squad. A month back he was seen criticising Amir, saying it would be unjust to include him in the team considering his poor performance for the last six months.
“Unless and until he improves his performance, there is no use selecting him for the World Cup,” Inzamam said a month back.
Amir from there on had been down with chickenpox and was unable to figure in the five-match One-Day series against England. Yet, Inzamam now has found different reasons to back his selection.
Now Wahab is ready to join the team in England without going through the physical test procedures or even without playing ODI cricket for the last two years.
The new shape of the World Cup team: Openers: Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. Middle-order batsmen: Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper) and Shoaib Malik. Spinners: Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan. Fast bowlers: Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz.
“The bowling unit during the England ODIs has not clicked as anticipated or expected. If we have at our disposal two vastly experienced pace duo of Amir and Wahab, then it will be foolish not to include them,” he said.
Pakistan had the flexibility to finalise their line-up until May 22, but decided to lock their make-up on Monday following the conclusion of the One-Day International series against England in Leeds.
From the 15-player provisional squad, which was announced on April 18, the selectors have replaced Abid Ali and Junaid Khan with Asif Ali and Mohammad Amir, respectively (both were named as additional players), while Wahab Riaz has been recalled to replace Faheem Ashraf.
Yasir Shah is the fourth player to be released from the side after he was named as Shadab Khan’s replacement for the series against England.
Amir, who is presently in London and has fully recovered from chickenpox, and Wahab is expected to join the squad in Bristol on May 22. Both the players will be available for selection for the May 24 and 26 warm-up matches before Pakistan launch their World Cup campaign against the West Indies at Trent Bridge on May 31.
“Junaid and Faheem had been originally preferred over a few other bowlers based on their recent performances and the investment we had made on them since 2017.
“They had the opportunity to cement their Word Cup spots, but they were well below-par in the series against England even though they were up against the difficult challenge of bowling on placid and batsmen-friendly wickets,” Inzamam said.
Wahab has taken 102 wickets in 79 ODIs, including 24 wickets in 12 World Cup matches in 2011 and 2015, while Amir has picked up 60 wickets in 51 matches, including five wickets in Pakistan’s successful ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign.
Wahab’s last ODI was in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 against India in Birmingham.
Explaining the decision to recall Wahab, Inzamam said: “The lack of potency of our frontline bowlers in the recent ODI series against England meant that a change was needed. In addition, we now know that we will encounter batting wickets throughout the World Cup campaign.
“The combination of both these elements meant that we believed that right now, utilising the World Cup experience and knowledge of Wahab was the correct choice.
“Wahab has been training and playing club cricket, and the player of his caliber will not face much problem in adapting and adjusting to the grueling demands of the World Cup. In addition, playing in the World Cup warm up matches, bowling his quota, will have him match-ready.
“The bowling unit during the England ODIs has not clicked as anticipated or expected; if we have at our disposal two vastly experienced pace duo of Amir and Wahab, then it will be foolish not to include them,” says Inzamam.
On Abid Ali, Inzamam said: “It has not been an easy decision to leave out Abid, particularly after he got only one opportunity on the tour. But, he was our third choice opener. After both the first choice openers struck early form, we preferred Asif Ali as he brings firepower to the team that can strengthen our chances in the tournament.
“Both our openers are in form and average over 50 each. If required, we have a fully fit Mohammad Hafeez who can be promoted in the batting order, while Haris Sohail can be another option.”
Pakistan World Cup schedule: May 31: v West Indies, Trent Bridge (d), June 3: v England, Trent Bridge (d), June 7: v Sri Lanka, Bristol (d), June 12: v Australia, Taunton (d), June 16: v India, Old Trafford (d), June 23: v South Africa, Lord’s (d), June 26: v New Zealand, Edgbaston (d), June 29: v Afghanistan, Headingley (d), July 5: v Bangladesh, Lord’s (d/n).
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