Reacting to questions on Babar Azam’s absence from the Pakistan ODI squad vs Bangladesh, captain Shaheen Shah Afridi reiterated that no one was dropped from team but it was more of giving opportunities to young players. “Look, no one is dropped for this series. We just want to give opportunities to our youngsters,” Afridi said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. The first ODI will take place on Wednesday in Dhaka.
Last week, Babar was dropped from the Pakistan ODI squad, set to play 3 50-over matches in Bangladesh, after an underwhelming T20 World Cup. Babar had scored a century in the last series Pakistan cricket team played in the One Day International format—a 102 against Sri Lanka in November—but faced the axe when the 15-member squad was named. Six uncapped players have been called up, including Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood and Shamyl Hussain who played against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi before the series was called off due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Alongside Babar, Saim Ayub and Naseem Shah were also excluded from the ODI team with Pakistan’s white-ball coach Mike Hesson saying that the exclusion of these senior players should not be considered as punishment for non-performance in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
“I wouldn’t say anyone was dropped. We just see this series as an opportunity to give these promising players a chance to prove themselves,” Hesson was quoted as saying by PTI.
Hesson insisted that Pakistan have had scant opportunities to test young, promising talent. He said with the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year, they wanted to see how these players respond.
“Sahabzada Farhan has forced himself into the ODI squad because of his exceptional performances in T20s, and young players like Shamyl Hussain or Maaz Sadaqat have been doing well in domestic cricket and junior sides. The series will not be easy as Bangladesh have been playing a lot more one-day cricket than us. I see this series as a big opportunity for these new players,” Hesson said.
