Inzamam-ul-Haq confirmed Pakistan’s 18-man squad for the Afghanistan series, continuing with business as usual after returning as the Green Army’s new chief selector ahead of the Asia Cup in 2023. For the Asia Cup, Pakistan’s 18-person team will be reduced to 17. The One Day International (ODI) series between the giant killers and Babar Azam’s team will be played at a neutral site in Sri Lanka due to the political unrest in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, the newly appointed chief selector Inzamam questioned about Babar’s future as the supreme commander of the Green Army during the customary news conference held prior to the ODI series. Inzamam suggested that Pakistan should have a single captain for all formats while speaking to the media at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Since 2020, Babar has served as the ODI’s captain in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed. Babar has led Pakistan to victories in 17 of the country’s last 26 ODIs.
‘Lot of changes in captaincy is not good’
“A lot of captaincy changes are not beneficial, as you can see. Sarfaraz Ahmed wasn’t the captain of all three formats when I was chief selector, but he later became the captain of all three, and I think Babar is doing a fantastic job as captain. Therefore, if a player participates in all three formats, I believe there should be a single captain for all three. He should therefore be aware of the direction he needs to take his team. However, this captaincy is outside of my purview, according to Inzamam, who represented Pakistan in 378 ODIs and 120 Test matches.
Pakistan advanced to the T20 World Cup final in Australia last year under Babar’s direction. Babar and company also achieved Pakistan’s first-ever World Cup victory over longtime rival India. For the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, Pakistan, a former Asia Cup champion, has called up all-arounder Faheem Ashraf. On August 22, 24, and 26, Pakistan and Afghanistan will meet in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan selected players with focus on World Cup
The Asia Cup is being co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, two former world champions. It will take place from August 30 to September 17. Only four of the continental tournament’s matches will be played at the Asian powers’ venues because India declined to send its team to Pakistan. “We have chosen players with the World Cup in mind as well, and we hope that the team brings honor to the nation,” Inzamam continued.
