Former Pakistan stalwart Shahid Afridi hopes the 15-man preliminary World Cup squad led by skipper Sarfraz Ahmed can capture the trophy but believes that they will miss the experience of pacers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.
Pakistan named its preliminary 15-man squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup on Thursday with Amir being the biggest omission although the left-armed pacer still has a chance to make the final cut should he impress in the preceding ODI series in England.
Wahab, meanwhile, had not been named even in the 23-man initial probable squad which underwent a two-day fitness camp at Lahore recently.
Amir’s struggles in limited-overs cricket since Pakistan’s 2017 ICC Champions Trophy triumph in England is all two well-known with the pacer going wicketless in nine of the 14 ODIs he has played in the period.
However, Afridi believes that Amir’s ability to swing the ball in English conditions and Wahab’s pace would have been massive assets for Pakistan’s World Cup squad.
Must’ve been a tough decision for selection committee to select the best 15 member squad for the WC. Best of luck to those who have made it - Hopefully you’ll bring the cup home. Personally I’ll miss @WahabViki bcz of pace & @iamamirofficial given the English conditions.
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 18, 2019
“Must’ve been a tough decision for selection committee to select the best 15-member squad for the World Cup. Best of luck to those who have made it – Hopefully you’ll bring the cup home,” the former Pakistan all-rounder wrote on Twitter.
“Personally, I’ll miss Wahab Riaz because of pace and Mohammad Amir given the English conditions,” he added.
It will now be interesting to see if Amir can have a substantial impact in Pakistan’s upcoming five-match ODI series against hosts England to give the selectors something to think about before the final squad for the World Cup is announced.
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