‘Our team is now rest in peace’: Ex-Pakistan captain after PCB rests Babar and Rizwan for Afghanistan T20Is

The
PCB
on
Monday
named
Shadab
Khan
the
captain
for
the
Afghanistan
tour
while
naming
a
15-member
squad
including
four
uncapped
players.
The
likes
of
Azam
Khan,
Faheem
Ashraf
and
Imad
Wasim
have
been
recalled.

Latif
took
shot
at
Najam
Sethi
–
PCB’s
74-year-old
chairman,
saying
that
people
who
have
“never
took
rest”
have
taken
the
first
step
towards
destroying
Pakistan
cricket.

“Our
players
are
featuring
in
ICC
rankings
and
winning
awards
after
a
long
time.
Babar
and
Shaheen
won
ICC
awards.
They
[PCB]
couldn’t
digest
it.
They
said
we
won’t
let
it
happen
and
now
we
are
here
and
will
take
decisions.
Those
who
never
took
rest
and
are
70
or
80-year-old
and
need
to
rest,
are
now
deciding
the
fate
of
Pakistan
cricket.
You
can
say
rest
in
peace
Pakistan
team.
Our
team
is
now
rest
in
peace,”
Latif
said,
as
per
Cricket
Pakistan.

“When
you
bring
new
players,
you
break
a
team
combination.
Some
new
players,
who
are
selected,
will
perform
in
the
Afghanistan
series,
so
will
they
bring
back
the
senior
players
back
with
lesser
strike
rate.
Media
will
also
put
pressure
on
them.
This
is
the
first
step
towards
destroying
Pakistan
team,”
he
further
said,
explaining
his
point.

PCB
explains
decision
to
rest
Babar,
Rizwan
and
other
seniors

“Babar,
Fakhar,
Haris,
Rizwan
and
Shaheen
have
been
provided
breaks
from
the
short
Sharjah
trip
to
allow
them
to
switch-off
from
competitive
cricket
so
that
they
can
complete
their
rehabilitations,
regroup,
recompose
and
recharge
their
batteries
and
be
fully
fit
for
the
challenges
in
the
tough
and
challenging
2023-24
season,”
69-year-old
chairman
of
the
selection
committee,
Haroon
Rashid
said.

Sethi
backed
board’s
decison
to
appoint
Shadab
as
the
T20I
captain,
saying,
“I
want
to
congratulate
Shadab
Khan
on
his
appointment
as
the
Pakistan
team
captain
for
the
series
against
Afghanistan.
Shadab
Khan
has
been
the
Pakistan
vice-captain
in
white-ball
cricket
for
the
past
couple
of
years
and
it
is
logical
that
he
takes
over
the
side
in
the
absence
of
Babar
Azam
for
the
short
three-match
T20I
tour
of
Sharjah.

“For
the
short
Sharjah
tour
and
to
ensure
continuity,
we
have
also
appointed
Mohammad
Yousuf
as
the
interim
head
and
batting
coach.
Yousuf
has
been
with
the
national
side
since
last
year
as
a
batting
coach
and
has
also
been
working
in
the
National
High
Performance
Centre.”

The
Pakistan
vs
Afghanistan
series
kicks
of
from
March
25.

Pakistan
Squad:
Shadab
Khan
(C),
Abdullah
Shafique,
Azam
Khan,
Faheem
Ashraf,
Iftikhar
Ahmed,
Ihsanullah,
Imad
Wasim,
Mohammad
Haris
(wk),
Mohammad
Nawaz,
Mohammad
Wasim
Jnr,
Naseem
Shah,
Saim
Ayub,
Shan
Masood,
Tayyab
Tahir,
Zaman
Khan.