ISLAMABAD: Former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir believes the Twenty20 format is incomplete without aggressive Shahid Afridi saying if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) doesn’t see the all-rounder in their future plans then they should convey him beforehand.
Talking to APP, Qadir said PCB selectors should not waste Afridi’s time, experience and age. “We can still get a lot out of Afridi if we use him properly,” he said.
“But if they (selectors) don’t see his place in the team anymore then they should inform him properly,” he said.
He said senior players like Shoaib Malik and others who perform once in a blue moon should be dropped permanently from the team and instead youngsters should be given the chance.
“If we have to lose while having the seniors in the team then why not to include youngsters and groom them for future,” he said.
He also praised the T20 skipper Sarfraz Ahmed for the victory over England. “Sarfraz is a match winner. He just focuses on his game and is a team leader,” he said adding the T20 will go a long way under his captaincy.
Qadir said Azhar Ali should also be removed from ODI captaincy and should play Tests only. “Sarfraz should also be given the ODI captaincy as Azhar is a very weak captain,” he said.
Qadir said he has also been a chief selector and if he would have to choose the ODI team then his players would be Salman Butt, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Imad Wasim, Abdul Razzaq (depending on fitness), Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan, Danish Kaneria, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Aamer Yamin and Muhammad Nawaz.
Qadir said PCB is doing injustice with Kaneria and is damaging his career. “Kaneria should be given back his bread and butter,” he said.
He said pacer Muhammad Amir is also being given undue favor by PCB as his performance in the series against England has not been up to the mark. “Sohail Khan has performed way better than Amir in the Test Series against England but the selectors ignored him in the T20,” he said.
Amir bagged 12 wickets in the Test series while Sohail grabbed 13 wickets in just two test matches.
