Pakistan great Wasim Akram isn’t entirely in agreement over the selection of certain players in the national team for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Pakistan, being the hosts of the tournament, are among the favourites to go all the way, though some of their team selection picks have left Akram baffled. The pace great was specifically skeptical of Faheem Ashraf’s selection in the team, highlighting his woeful stats as an all-rounder. Akram feels Pakistan should’ve learned from the Indian team when it came to the selection of players in the team.
“The team that has been announced, I haven’t seen it properly yet. But couple of which I have seen, for instance, Faheem Ashraf is in the team. I wish him all the best. A talented cricketer. But in the last 20 matches, his bowling average is 100, and his batting average is 9. He came out of the blue, and Khushdil Shah also came out of the blue. And we are taking one spinner, a proper spinner. I think India has ordered 3-4 spinners in their squad. And there is a reason why they have selected them. Anyway, the team has been selected. I wish the Pakistan team all the best. There will be some pressure because of being hosts. We are expecting them to reach the semi-final,” Akram said in a chat with Sports Yaari.
Wasim was also impressed with a few selections. He pointed out how relieved he was to see opening batter Fakhar Zaman getting the nod despite being in and out of the team over form issues of late.
“There will be a problem of opening. A regular opener is Fakhar (Zaman), who has been picked. Thank God he is back in the squad. One of the main players in world cricket in white ball. Now with him, you have to play a middle-order batter. I would like to see Rizwan as a middle-order batter. And maybe tell Babar to open. Babar’s technique is great. If Babar plays 50 overs, he will do 100 or 125. And fast bowlers, I think all of our pacers are very fast. Naseem (Shah) is back. Shaheen (Afridi) is there. Haris (Rauf) is there. And of course, Hasnain is there too.”
Akram said that he would’ve rather had Aamer Jamal in the squad for the all-rounder’s spot but he was snubbed.
“I was talking about an all-rounder. If you want to invest in someone for the long term, it was (Aamir) Jamal, but he is not in the squad,” Akram added.
“Look, I would love Pakistan to win. Obviously, being a Pakistani. But look, it won’t be easy. Top 8 teams in world cricket are playing. And they are playing quite a few games. A big game is here in Dubai. India-Pakistan game is in Dubai. My gut feeling is that they (Pakistan) must come to the semi-finals. Then we will see what happens after that.”
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