Since the countries started announcing their squads for the upcoming World Cup, there are many surprise inclusions and exclusions. The mega-tournament is fast approaching and the selectors are forced to take some harsh calls on some quality players.
When Pakistan announced their squad on Thursday, everyone witnessed the absence of pacer Mohammad Amir. The 27-year-old helped Pakistan win the 2017 Champions Trophy with his raw pace and aggression.
As a result when PCB named him in reserves, it grabbed a lot of eyeballs. There is still a chance that Amir gets a dramatic last-minute call-up. But until then Amir will not be part of the Pakistan squad who will fly to England and Wales to play the mega-tournament.
More Articles Related To Cricket:
Here are 3 reasons why Mohammad Amir was not picked in the squad:
1. Pakistan already has two left-arm pacers
At current time, Amir’s replacements are better than in both form and consistency. The rise of Shaheen Afridi has been great since his ODI debut in 2018. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways with his raw pace.
Shaheen Afridi has played only 10 ODIs, but has picked 19 wickets with average and economy of 19.37 and 4.79 respectively. Another left-arm pacer in the Pakistan squad is Junaid Khan.
Although Junaid has fitness issues from time to time, but this time it is not the same. Junaid’s strong wrist position prevents opposition batsmen to pick the ball early. He is also one of the most-experienced player in the squad as he is 29 years old.
Junaid has taken 108 wickets from 74 games with average and economy of 28.46 and 5.26 respectively. Moreover he is a regular member of County team Lancashire. This makes him more experienced in English pitches than his other teammates.