Conditions forced Imad’s exclusion

ISLAMABAD: Imad Waseem was sidelined to strengthen the batting lineup against England as there was no injury scare as was generally feared.

A well-placed source accompanying the team told ‘The News’ from Nottingham that after looking at the state of wicket at Trent Bridge early Monday morning, coach Mickey Arthur and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed were unanimous in deciding to drop Imad and out-of-form Harris Sohail and include Shoaib Malik and hard-hitting Mohammad Asif in the playing XI.

“Definitely Imad’s plus point is his spin bowling. He is a type of spinner, who can be useful when it comes to bowling early in the innings. As far as batting is concerned, Imad looks a suspect when it comes to facing high quality rising deliveries. That was one of the reasons it was decided to drop Imad for the match against England.

“Pakistan lost the first of the World Cup match against West Indies and wanted to come hard in the second against England. On a wicket that looked full of runs, it was decided to include Shoaib Malik in Imad’s place.

“The team camp has now decided to take every match differently that means each playing XI will be selected according to the requirements. The likes of Mohammad Hasnain and Shaheen Shah Afridi would be included in the playing lineup once it was comprehended that the playing track and conditions are ideal for the pace and swing bowling.”

The insider also said that Haris Sohail’s suspect behavior against the rising balls also forced the camp to drop him from the playing XI against England.