Former captain, Rashid Latif, believes top-order batsman, Haider Ali, should be a part of the national team in all three formats, adding that Pakistan team management is misusing him by labeling him a T20 specialist.
Latif talked about the talented player in the popular TV show, Game On Hai, where he was joined by the former fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, renowned cricket journalist Dr. Nauman Niaz, and the Chief Selector of Pakistan national team, Mohammad Wasim.
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Latif said that Haider should be a regular in the national side in all three formats and questioned Wasim on why Haider was not selected in the Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe.
He said that Haider has been a consistent first-class performer and was part of the Northern squad, coached by Mohammad Wasim himself. Latif said that Haider should be in the squad ahead of the likes of Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt, and Salman Ali Agha.
Latif was also of the view that Shan Masood and Usman Salahuddin deserve a place in the squad ahead of Imran Butt and Abdullah Shafique. He said that consistent first-class performers have been ignored in favor of less talented performers.
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Mohammad Wasim replied that Haider is a part of their plans, but the selection committee feels that he needs to improve his batting in the longer format to be considered for selection.
The 20-year old batsman has played eight first-class matches, scoring 652 runs at an average of 46.57. He made his way into international cricket in white-ball cricket on the back of impressive performances in domestic cricket, PSL 5, and U19 circket. He is highly regarded in the cricketing fraternity and has been hailed as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket.
