Ex-Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq picked Faheem Ashraf over Mohammad Wasim Jr for the upcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India. With this year’s extravaganza just a few months away, former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq came up with a suggestion regarding the all-rounder spot for Pakistan. While speaking to a local TV channel, Abdul Razzaq was asked to pick between Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim Jr as to who should be selected to represent the country in this year’s world cup. The legendary all-rounder threw his weight behind Faheem Ashraf; citing the latter’s experience. “If we judge experience-wise, then Faheem Ashraf should go for World Cup,” said Razzaq.

Meanwhile, Abdul Razzaq also questioned Wasim Jr’s selection and development in the national team as the former all-rounder believes that the latter was promoted to the international circuit without sufficient exposure in the domestic structure. “If we talk about Mohammad Wasim Jr, we brought him from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I think he was selected for the Pakistan team too early,” Abdul Razzaq said. “Wasim Jr should have played more domestic cricket and bowled longer spells over there before getting selected. Now, he plays few matches for Pakistan and then sits out in the rest of the matches. You can never groom a player like that,” he added.

However, Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming World Cup has been in jeopardy after the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) refused to travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup on political grounds and has since been pushing to shift the tournament to a neutral venue. The BCCI maintained its stance of not touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup, while the PCB was adamant that if they do not, then Pakistan might not travel to India for the World Cup in October-November. As per the latest development, however, the BCCI has reportedly accepted PCB’s hybrid model which meant that Pakistan will host the first four matches of the tournament while India’s group stage matches and Super 4s matches will be contested on a neutral venue.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP