Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Junaid Khan’s career has come to a standstill after he was axed from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to accommodate other fast bowlers like Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz at the eleventh hour.
This was not the first time he was sidelined from the national side ahead of the World Cup, 3 consecutive times either due to injuries or last-minute uncalled for changes. He has missed 2011, 2015 and now the 2019 edition of the mega event.
The 29-year-old has finally spoken up about the injustice done to him over the years. He has expressed his disappointment on the selection committee’s decision to replace him ahead of the biggest cricketing event based on one bad performance, saying:
Only in the final game of the series against England before the World Cup was my performance not up to the mark but I was no worse than the other bowlers. To drop a player before such an important tournament based on one performance was very disappointing.
Junaid Khan "only in the final game of the series against England before the World Cup was my performance not up to the mark but I was no worse than the other bowlers. To drop a player before such an important tournament based on one performance was very disappointing" #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) August 29, 2019
The Pakistan selection committee recalled Wahab Riaz, a player who hadn’t featured for Pakistan in almost two years prior to the World Cup and was publicly dissed by Mickey Arthur for not being a match-winner.
Evaluating the situation, the social media supported Junaid Khan when he finally decided to upload a picture of himself with black tape wrapped around his mouth, to silently protest the injustice and captioned it as ‘truth is bitter.’
The situation also escalated when the International Cricket Council (ICC) official social media also shared the image immediately afterward.
Do you think Junaid Khan should get another chance? Let us know in the comments section.
I guess we need to be related to some one in the selection committee to be in team.