LAHORE: Although he has been left out of the squad for the Asia Cup,Mohammad Hafeez is still a part of Pakistan’s plans for the ICC CricketWorld Cup 2019, Inzamam-ul-Haq has said.
“Hafeez is a part of the 20-22 players that we are considering for theWorld Cup. Hafeez is a good player and now he can bowl as well. But we haveother options now. There is much more cricket after the Asia Cup. At thismoment, we are trying other options,” said Pakistan’s Chairman of Selectorsafter announcing the squad at the Pakistan Cricket Board headquarters.
“We select players and we don’t have any right to claim that anybody’scareer has come to an end,” he added of the 37-year-old former captain.
Imad Wasim, along with Hafeez, got the axe from the 18-man preliminarysquad for the 50-over tournament. The 29-year old failed the fitness testtwice and was excluded from the trip to United Arab Emirates as a result.
Shan Masood, who hasn’t featured in a one-day international game forPakistan yet, has been drafted into the squad instead after representinghis country in 12 Tests, scoring 565 runs at an average of just under 24.
“If his List-A record is to be seen over the past year, he has scored morethan 1300 runs [1288] which contain world-record performances. So, wethought of providing him with an opportunity before the next year’s WorldCup,” said Inzamam about the 28-year-old’s inclusion in the squad.
The Pakistan squad includes six pacers – Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan,Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Junaid Khan.