Former Pakistan cricketer Aaqib Javed has lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for ignoring Junaid Khan and selected Mohammad Amir for the upcoming T20I series against England.
Ahead of the much-awaited England series, Amir had withdrawn from the three-match T20Is series to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, but after the birth of his daughter, he announced to re-join the side and even the PCB included the left-arm pacer in the Pakistan squad as a replacement for Haris Rauf, who had repeatedly tested positive for the COVID-19.
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Well, PCB’s decision to include Amir for the England series didn’t go down well with Javed, saying the board seems to be favoring the pacer for no apparent reason despite the latter has been struggling since his comeback post the spot-fixing ban.
Former pacer believes that Amir doesn’t deserve to be part of the national team for the upcoming T20I series against England.
Javed was quoted as saying by Daily Times: “PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better.”
He further added, “Injustice has been done with Junaid and he has been ignored for no reason. PCB brought Amir back after that incident [spot-fixing ban] and since then he has given only one noteworthy performance, which was in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Apart from that, Amir has always struggled since his comeback. I think he is already going for the Twenty20 International matches because he doesn’t play Tests. When you already have around 10 fast-bowlers in the 29-member squad present in England, why do you need to call Amir?
There is no clear policy regarding the future. PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better.”
Javed signed off by saying, “I think he is already going for the Twenty20 International matches because he doesn’t play Tests. When you already have around 10 fast-bowlers in the 29-member squad present in England, why do you need to call Amir? There is no clear policy regarding the future.”
(With Daily Times Inputs)
