‘Would have made more cricket sense’: Former players slam Pakistan over Imad Wasim exclusion in first T20I vs NZ

Former Pakistan players slammed the exclusion of all-rounder Imad Wasim from Pakistan's playing XI for their first T20 against New Zealand at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan. Wasim, who recently came out of retirement along with pacer Mohammad Amir wasn’t a part of the team against the Blackcaps.

With the T20 World Cup around the corner, the former champions were expected to come up with their potential playing XI ahead of their first clash against NZ. However, Imad’s exclusion came as a bolt from the blue to many as they scrutinized Pakistan’s decision to keep him on the bench.

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Former Test player Iqbal Qasim said that the decision made no sense for him and the hosts should’ve considered playing Imad in the place of Shadab Khan.

“(It) makes no sense to me, honestly, Imad should have played in place of Shadab Khan," he said.

Former player, head coach and chief selector seemed dissatisfied with the decision and suggested that both Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim must play as many games as possible to ‘overcome rustiness.’

“So much hue and cry over bringing back Imad and Amir and they must get maximum matches to overcome their rustiness in international cricket,” he said.

Another former player said, “Would have made more cricket sense to have Imad who is a left-arm spinner and brings more power to the lower batting order compared to Shadab.”

While there has been no clarity on Imad exclusion from the squad, his reported fallout with skipper Babar Azam is being seen as a conjecture. The latter is said to have pulled out of the Karachi Kings at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) because of Imad. The left-hander later went on to represent Islamabad United in the league. Former skipper Mohammad Amir asserted that this series of happenings was a nexus to Imad’s retirement where he wasn’t pleased with the management’s decision as well as Babar Azam.

While Imad Wasim has been one of their finest most reliable players over the years, his return to the squad in the next matches doesn’t look unlikely. As the former champions look to gear up for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June, they will look to calibrate their playing XI to full throttle for the biennial event encounters.