Veteran Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has slammed the country’s apex cricket board for excluding domestic stalwart Kamran Ghulam from the team for the 1st Test of a three-match series against England. On Tuesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named a 15-man squad for the series-opener, starting in Multan from October 7. However, there was no place for Ghulam in the team, who has been piling runs in the domestic circuit. In fact, since September 2023, Ghulam has smashed seven hundreds in 13 first-class matches for his side Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), with five hundreds coming in this year alone.
Ghulam was part of the squad for the Bangladesh Test series earlier this month, but did not feature. Despite dropping him from the team, the PCB insisted that the batter is still in their plans.
However, Shehzad slammed chief selector Mohammad Yousuf for his inclusion. In fact, he even asked Yousuf if Ghulam’s exclusion is due to the presence of Babar Azam, who also bats at no. 3.
“Kamran Ghulam has been ignored as Mohammad Yousuf didn’t make him a part of the 15-member squad. Khurram Shahzad is injured, while Aamer Jamal and Shaheen Shah Afridi aren’t fully fit. Despite that, you did not pick Mohammad Ali. It’s hard to understand. How will you justify not picking Kamran and Sahibzada Farhan in the squad? What sin did they commit? Is it because they bat in the same position where Babar bats? When Yousuf was the coach, he left everything on two to three players. Yousuf is the selector and this is the team he is selecting. Give me one logic why Kamran Ghulam was left out?” Shehzad said in a video uploaded on his social media handles.
If Saim & Abdullah can be given Chances then why not Kamran & Mohammad Ali? New Name for Dosti Yaari is “Fear of Failure”. This is Mindless Strategy by Pakistan Cricket Board#PakistanCricket #KamranGhulam #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/l5KhOFMrW2
— Ahmad Shahzad (@iamAhmadshahzad) September 25, 2024
Ghulam, 28, has played just one game for Pakistan, in an ODI against New Zealand last year, although he did not bat or bowl in that game.
The Upper Dir-born cricketer has been in impressive form in the ongoing Champions One Day Cup, scoring 248 runs at an average of 49.60 and a strike rate of 100 in five games.
However, Ghulam was dismissed for a solitary run in Markhors’ Qualifier against the Panthers.
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