Amidst the outrage over Sharjeel Khan’s selection in Pakistan’s T20I side, skipper Babar Azam has come out in support of his teammate, saying that the southpaw is in form and will be a valuable addition to the national side.
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Notably, Sharjeel returns to the Pakistan side after completing a two-and-a-half-year ban for spot-fixing. He was banned for five years, with half of the ban suspended in late 2017, for his involvement in agreeing to spot fix a PSL game earlier that year.
During a virtual press conference in Lahore ahead of the team’s training camp for the upcoming South Africa tour, Babar assured that Sharjeel was working on his fitness.
"I've played with Sharjeel Khan and I know he can't become a Shadab Khan suddenly," Azam said.
"But we have to carry him. I agree his fitness might not be there yet. But the way he is playing, his form, he can help us. I've played with him in Karachi Kings too. He's one of the best players, he can totally change the game. Yes, he is working on his fitness. And also, I've asked for him only in the T20s because it is a short format and in a short format you can adjust a bit.
"He's played domestic four-day, one-day, PSL too. In my opinion, there's not much of an issue with fitness, yes he's a little 'healthy', but work is in progress. I'll repeat that he's a match-winner and his fielding is not an issue. He's part of the team and if we back him, it will be beneficial for us," he added.
Apart from Sharjeel, Pakistan have also called upon the likes of Azam Khan and Sohaib Maqsood for the training camp at the National Cricket Academy.
"This is an important tour for us," Azam said. "We have the winning momentum to maintain. There's been a lot of gap since our last ODI against Zimbabwe. So we'll play two practice [intra-squad] one-dayers at the camp before the South Africa series. It's an important series for World Cup qualification. Hopefully, we can collect points.
"It's also an opportunity for young guys to take up and polish their games, with an away tour of West Indies to come followed by a series against New Zealand. The endeavour is for the team to keep doing well and hopefully climb into the Top 3."
Babar Azam also brushed aside the talks related to his differences with the selection panel
"The rumours doing the rounds about team selection ... in my opinion, these matters of meetings are better left inside the meeting. When they are brought out, it's not good," he said.
"Debates are good. There will be differences of opinions but they are best kept inside the room. This is not my team, this is our team and it's my responsibility to take the team forward. I understand the goal of selection. The endeavour is to get the best players and I welcome all the new inclusions."
Pakistan will play 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is during the tour of South Africa, starting April 2.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
