–Pakistan squad for Australia: Rizwan replaces Sarfaraz as keeper, Irfan makes comeback
LAHORE: Not only is Sarfaraz Ahmed absent in the Pakistan Test and T20I squads bound for Australia, in a major shake-up, head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has named a host of new faces in both the touring groups.
Muhammad Musa Khan, the 19-year-old seamer, was included in both the squads. Khushdil Shah, the 24-year-old middle-order batsman, and Abdul Qadir’s son Usman Qadir, the 26-year-old legspinner, were the new faces in the T20I squad, to be captained by Babar Azam, while Azhar Ali’s Test side included Kashif Bhatti, the domestic veteran who bowls left-arm spin and Nasim Shah, the young fast bowler.
Misbah-ul Haq said message is clear for Sarfaraz Ahmed and all the players that performance is key to be in the team.
Announcing Pakistan squad for Australia series on Monday, Misbah attempted to clear the air regarding the controversial decision of removing the cricketer from the captaincy and said there’s no conspiracy against him.
The former skipper was also not considered for the wicket-keeping slot as Rizwan was selected in his place for the crucial series.
The head coach pointed out that chairman PCB also mentioned in the press release that the only criteria for the team selection was merit and drop in Sarfaraz’s recent form was the only reason behind him being not given the task of leading the team.
Former Pakistan greats have also critisced the Pakistan Cricket Board for the way Sarfaraz was treated.
Misbah said he and Chairman Ehsan Mani and MD Waseem Khan discussed in detail regarding Pakistan’s furure plan of action.
The doors are open for Sarfaraz and everyone else to regain form in the domestic cricket and comeback, said Misbah.
‘We have always backed Sarfaraz and he is a good enough player and has performed for the country.’
In Pakistan’s post-World Cup shake-up, Sarfaraz had been sacked as captain of the Test and T20I sides and a decision on the ODI captaincy was put on hold, as Pakistan’s next 50-over assignment isn’t until July next year. Also out of the Test side were Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, who is nursing an injury, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Amir, who had announced his retirement from the longest format earlier this year.
In T20Is, there was no place for Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, who were selected in controversial circumstances for the series at home against Sri Lanka recently, while Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz were also left out.
There have been a number of surprises in the squad, but the call-up of Usman Qadir perhaps tops them all. Just last year, Qadir had declared he “didn’t want to play for Pakistan”, and wanted to represent Australia instead when he became a citizen, disillusioned by the lack of opportunity in Pakistan.
Less than a fortnight ago, Misbah rhetorically asked a packed press conference which legspinners he was ignoring in Pakistan cricket, indicating there was no one coming through to select besides Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan.
When a journalist murmured Usman Qadir’s name, there was a ripple of laughter, with even Misbah joining in, and saying he hadn’t been playing domestic cricket in Pakistan. To see him named in a squad just ten days later represents a remarkable change of heart from the PCB, and indeed Qadir himself.
In another notable recall, Mohammad Irfan was named in a Pakistan squad for the first time since September 2016, with the previous coach Mickey Arthur deeming him incompatible with the high-performance culture he believed was necessary to make Pakistan a modern-day limited-overs force. The 37-year-old paceman will be the oldest player in a side that’s otherwise notable for its youth.
One of the less surprising – but still notable for its significance – changes was the introduction of Mohammad Rizwan to Pakistan’s T20I and Test squads as the first-choice wicketkeeper after a long wait on the sidelines. He didn’t play a single international game for over two years while Sarfaraz was captain, but with him out of the fray, the path for Rizwan to come back was cleared. He has, however, only ever played a single Test match, which came nearly three years ago in New Zealand.
Imran Khan, meanwhile, is also back in the side for the first time since Pakistan’s last tour of Australia in January 2017. He may only have played nine Tests, but three have come in two separate series against Australia, the opposition he now has an opportunity to take on next month.
As mentioned earlier, Azhar and Babar will captain the Test and T20I squads respectively, with the T20I series a chance for Pakistan to bounce back from the 3-0 home defeat to Sri Lanka and press their claim as favourites for next year’s men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia, further. The Test series will be the first assignment for Pakistan in the World Test Championship, and it could not have been a more challenging start; Pakistan have lost each of their last four series in Australia 3-0, representing 12 consecutive Test losses.
The action in Australia begins with the first T20I on November 3 in Sydney, followed by games in Canberra (November 5) and Perth (November 8), before the Test matches take place in Brisbane (November 21-25) and Adelaide (November 29 to December 3).