'Whose Neck Have They Strangled': Ex-PAK Player Questions Non-selection of Domestic Stars for Pakistan's 1st Test vs ENG - WATCH

After the announcement of Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the 1st Test against England, the former Pakistan international, Ahmed Shahzad has gone on to slam the Pakistan selectors for not including some names in the list.

In a brief video clip, Shahzad uploaded on his handle on X (formerly known as Twitter), the former Pakistan opener was vocal about his criticism of the selections made.

The former Pakistan international criticised the board for not picking two names for the squad. These are Kamran Ghulam who is a top-order batter and Mohammed Ali who is a right-arm fast-bowler.

“Kamran Ghulam has once again been ignored. What I don’t understand is that Khurram Shahzad is injured, and Aamer Jamal is also not fully fit. Shaheen Shah Afridi is also not fully fit. Even then you have not put in Mohammed Ali. I am not able to understand what their options are in this,” Shahzad criticised the Pakistan selectors.

The T20 World Cup winner remains confused as to why Ghulam and another player have not been picked in the squad to test out Pakistan’s batting options, which has repeatedly failed to prove themselves against the bigger opposition.

He even questioned if the reasons for their non-selection was because they played in the top-order, just like the white-ball skipper, Babar Azam.

“Secondly, I would like to know whose neck Kamran Ghulam and Sahibzada Farhan held firmly. How will you justify not adding their names?” Shahzad asked.

“Is it that they play at the same number as Babar Azam, since Babar has not played for the last 18 innings, it would add pressure on him,” he added.

To end the clip, Shahzad went on to call the former Pakistan international and currently the selector in the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohammad Yousuf as a dummy within the national cricket board.

“Yousuf when he was a coach as well had left it in the hands of the same 2-3 players. Just like that, he is like a dummy as the Pakistan Cricket Board’s selector,” he concluded.

Pakistan cricket has been on a downward spiral with the national team hitting new lows like suffering a whitewashing defeat to Bangladesh at home which was a never-before-done feat. They also had disappointing campaigns at the ODI World Cup 2023 in India followed by the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies.