Salman explains Sufiyan's exclusion

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha revealed the reason behind left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem's absence from the national squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week announced a 16-member squad for the aforementioned series, which was selected based on the players' performances in the recently concluded HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10.

Meanwhile, Muqeem, who represented Peshawar Zalmi in this year's marquee league, had a forgetful campaign as he could only play three matches and took only one wicket at a dismal economy rate of 9.72.

The spinner, however, delivered impressive performances for the national team last month on the white-ball tour of New Zealand, where he picked up five wickets in three matches – one T20I and two ODIs.

His exclusion drew an outburst from fans, who flocked to social media to express their disapproval.

Consequently, Pakistan captain Agha was also asked to share the thought process behind the wrist spinner's snub from the home series during the pre-series press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Tuesday.

In response, Agha expressed his admiration for Muqeem and assured that he is in their plans for shorter formats before explaining that he was overlooked considering the conditions here, which according to him are more favourable for the pacers.

"I personally like Sufyan a lot, and in the upcoming series, he will feature in our shorter formats squads. I think Sufyan will play a crucial role in the white-ball format, and he will win a lot of matches for Pakistan in the future," said Agha.

"If we look at the conditions, spinners did not have much success here [Lahore], so a fast bowler is added in his place," he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the three-match T20I series between Pakistan and Bangladesh is scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium here on May 28, 30 and June 1, respectively.

Wasim Jr ruled out

Pakistan's fast-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jr has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Tuesday.

According to the cricket board, the 23-year-old picked up a side strain during the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 and was not able to recover in time.

Earlier, sources had suggested that the doctors advised Mohammad Wasim Jr a one-week rest and thus, will undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here.

As a result, he has been replaced by Abbas Afridi, who was the joint second leading wicket-taker of the PSL 10 with 17 dismissals in 11 matches at a decent average of 23.52.

"Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas Afridi has replaced Mohammad Wasim Jnr in Pakistan's T20I squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh," the PCB said in a statement.

"Wasim Jnr picked up a side strain during the HBL PSL and was not able to recover in time."

Abbas has thus far represented Pakistan in 20 T20Is and took 33 wickets in his budding career.

For the unversed, the three-match T20I series is scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium here on May 28, 30 and June 1.

Pakistan squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk) and Saim Ayub.

Series schedule:

28 May – 1st T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

30 May – 2nd T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

1 June – 3rd T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.