Former Pakistan cricketers have lashed out at captain Babar Azam for his poor team selection in the first T20I against New Zealand. They were unhappy after the new captain expelled Imad Wasim from the team for the first match.

Pakistan took on New Zealand in the first match of the five-match T20I series in Rawalpindi on Thursday (April 18). However, the rain played a spoilsport role and the match was over, having witnessed only three balls of New Zealand’s innings.

Pakistan’s team selection for the first T20I against New Zealand went unnoticed. They did not choose Imad Wasim in the team and that generated quite a surprise. The all-rounder recently retired and he was expected to return immediately.

However, it was not to be as Imad Wasim was not chosen for the team. Instead, Pakistan debuted UAE-based Usman Khan and the mysterious Abrar Ahmed. This came as a surprise because the all-rounder had a great time in the Pakistan Super League.

Former Pakistan player Iqbal Qasim believes that Pakistan dropping Imad Wasim makes no sense. He took a bold decision and said the all-rounder should have played instead of Shadab Khan. He stated:

“It doesn’t make sense to me, honestly, Imad should have played instead of Shadab Khan.”

The former player, coach and chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team believes that Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, who have come out of retirement, should play as many matches as possible on the international stage. He added:

“There is so much fuss about bringing back Imad and Amir and they need to get maximum matches to overcome their rust in international cricket.”

It would have made more sense in cricket to have Imad: Former Pakistan cricketers defeat Babar Azam

Another former player of the team lashed out at Babar Azam for his decision to leave out Imad Wasim. He claimed that playing against the left-hander would have made more sense than playing against Shadab Khan. He stated:

“It would have made more sense in cricket to have Imad, who is a left-arm bowler and brings more power to the lower batting order compared to Shadab.”

Cricket writer and analyst Omar Alavi made a bold comment and said that Babar Azam needs to make right decisions in his second stint as team captain. He explained:

“Babar has a second chance to create his own legacy as captain of Pakistan but for this he has to ensure selection based on merit and situational requirements.”

Lately there were reports claiming that Babar Azam and Imad Wasim are not getting along well. They had a falling out between them during the PSL, which made Babar leave Karachi Kings. Mohammad Hafeez later revealed that Wasim asked for his retirement because he was not treated well by the Pakistan team management led by Babar.

The second T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played on Saturday (April 20) at the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium.