Pakistan on Friday named disgraced starter Sharjeel Khan, who served a point-fixing penalty, to the T20 national team for upcoming home tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Left-handed batsman Sharjeel was sanctioned for five years in August 2017 by the Anti-Corruption Tribunal of the Pakistan Cricket Board after being convicted of corruption during the Pakistan Super League held in the United Arab Emirates.
However, the court suspended the two-and-a-half-year sentence that allowed Sharjeel to return to competitive cricket late last year when she appeared in Pakistan’s Super League 5.
In addition to head coach Sharjeel, Muhammad Wasim also announced a series of surprise exclusions and inclusions for the twin tour in which Pakistan will play three ODIs and four T20 internationals in South Africa and two Tests and three T20s in Zimbabwe.
The white ball players from Pakistan will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 on a chartered flight, while the test specialists will depart for Zimbabwe on April 12.
A total of 22 players have been named to the T20 and ODI matches on the twin tours with 14 players on both teams.
Wasim said that Yasir Shah, the experienced test leg runner, had not been considered for the longer format because he was out of shape.
He said that boundless fast bowlers Shahnawaz Dahani, Arshad Iqbal and Muhammad Wasim jr, had been called up for all three formats as a reward for their performances in national cricket and the Pakistan Super League.
While Dahani is on the test team, Arshad and Wasim, who was classified as an off-roader by the head coach, are on the T20 team.
Sajid Khan and the pacer, Tabish Khan, who were chosen on the test team for the recent home series against South Africa, but did not have a chance to play, have also been retained on the test team.
In a big exclusion, the selectors have not chosen the experienced off-roader, Imad Wasim for the T20 and ODI matches while continuing to ignore the experienced hitter, Shoaib Malik.
The hitter, Abdullah Shafique, who was initially chosen last year for the T20 format but failed badly in New Zealand and was later eliminated, has now been named to the ODI and Test squads.
Wasim also said that regular T20 players such as Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Aamir Yamin and Ammad Butt had also been eliminated for lack of form in recent matches.
Experienced left-arm pacemaker Wahab Riaz has also been dropped for the twin tours, but starter Fakhar Zaman has also won a comeback on the ODI squad.
All-rounder Shahdab Khan, who was not involved with injury in the test series in New Zealand, is back in the white ball squads, while leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, who debuted against South Africa in the final T20 match , the test squad has also been included.
Pakistan Squads:
T20: Babar Azam (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Muhammad Hafeez, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Wasim jr, Shadab Khan (VC), Muhammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Arshad Iqbal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir.
ODI: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (captain), Danish Aziz, Imam ul Haq, Saud Shakeel, Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Wasim jr, Shadab Khan (VC), Muhammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir.
Proof: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Rizwan (VC), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tabish Khan, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan, and Nauman Ali.
.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.