Former Pakistan fast bowler, Aaqib Javed, believes that the Men in Green have a major weakness in the T20 World Cup squad, which could have an adverse impact on the performance of the team. Aaqib believes that Pakistan lacks a proper opener in the squad, which could prove to be costly in the mega event.
Lahore Qalandars’ coach believes that Pakistan should have picked one of Sharjeel Khan or Fakhar Zaman in their 15-man squad as they could have been called upon if Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were unable to perform up to the required standards.
Fakhar is part of the traveling reserves with the T20 World Cup squad and can be included in the squad if any player from the regular squad is ruled out of the tournament. Sharjeel, on the other hand, was not selected for the 18-man touring party.
Fakhar’s T20I record in UAE is unimpressive. He has only scored 77 runs at an average of 12.83 and a strike rate of 102.66 in the six innings he has played in the country. His recent performances in T20 cricket have been disappointing as well. He has scored 73 runs at an average of 18.25 and a strike rate of 155.31 in the previous four innings he has played.
Sharjeel’s performances in UAE have also been less than stellar in his six T20I innings in the country. He has scored 137 runs at an average of 22.83 and a strike rate of 126.85.
Pakistan’s chief selector, Mohammad Wasim, revealed that the national team would rely upon the veteran all-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez, or the middle-order batsman, Sohaib Maqsood, to open the innings if needed.
