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Why Did Pakistan Replace Saim Ayub With Khushdil Shah In CT? Reason Will Leave You In Shock

Anurag Dasgupta

Why no one replaced Saim Ayub? [Source: @grassrootscric/X.com] Why no one replaced Saim Ayub? [Source: @grassrootscric/X.com]

Pakistan announced their Champions Trophy squad a few days ago and it has already generated controversies for its bizarre team selection without keeping the conditions in mind. While the selectors have retained the core of the team, some of the selections have received widespread criticism.

When Saim Ayub, the star opener was ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to an ankle injury, it was expected that the selectors will pick an opener to replace him. While Fakhar Zaman, the other opener in the side was always destined to be included, eyebrows were raised when no proper replacement was announced for Saim.

Bizarre decision by chief selector Aqib Javed

Instead, Pakistan went in with Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf who were all-rounders. Interestingly, with no second opener, selectors urged Babar Azam to open the innings, a decision which he accepted.

As per reports by Pakistan journalist, Qadir Khawaja, chief selector, Aqib Javed stated that they couldn't have replaced Saim with an opener because they needed all-rounders to fill in his void. This is the reason, Khushdil Shah was picked.

However, this bizarre decision has jeopardise Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign since they don't have a designated second opener.

Pakistan reconsidering certain selection decisions

Several former players have criticised the team selection for the mega event and hence, as per the latest reports, the selectors are thinking of tweaking two key positions in the side - the opening slot and Faheem Ashraf as the all-rounder.

Teams can make changes to their squad well before the tournament, and Pakistan are considering making certain changes in their team.

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy

Mohammad Rizwan (C), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (VC), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi