LONDON – Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has said that dropping left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, from the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup squad, was a difficult decision.
While speaking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Sarfaraz said Amir will have to make most of the upcoming ODI series against England, to come back into reckoning for the national side.
“Dropping Amir from the squad was a difficult decision for us because he is a senior player and can come up with a match-winning performance, on a given day,” said Sarfaraz. “But he has the opportunity to come back into reckoning by putting up a good show in series against England.”
The Pakistan skipper also spoke about the importance of one-off T20I and five-match ODI series against England, ahead of the mega event.
“I think, before the World Cup, the five-match ODI series against England is the best preparation for the mega event,” he said. “We will play on different venues and pitches, which will aid us in acclimatizing with the conditions in England.”
The wicketkeeper-batsman also confirmed that there was no discord between the team management and selection committee over the selected World Cup squad.
“I’m satisfied with the World Cup squad,” he said. “There was some debate over one or two names but in the end we unanimously agreed on the selected bunch of players.”
The 31-year-old also spoke about the exclusion of fellow wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, from the World Cup squad, despite being amongst the runs in the ODI series against Australia in UAE, recently.
COURTESY : CP
