World Cup winner slams selectors for leaving out Pakistan's Hardik Pandya

Pakistan in action against India (Source: AP)

Former Indian World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Pakistan selectors for leaving out Mohammad Wasim Jr. in the match against India.

Wasim put on a show with the ball and the bat against Zimbabwe and Gavaskar believes that the all-rounder could have made a big impact against the Men in Blue. 

This is not the first time Pakistan's team selection has been called into question. Earlier, the likes of Mohammad Amir have openly blamed the selectors for Pakistan's dismal run of form on social media. 

The decision to leave out Shoaib Malik also did not go down well with many. 

Meanwhile, reflecting on Waseem's performance against Zimbabwe, Gavaskar said that he could have been Pakistan's version of Hardik Pandya. 

Gavaskar said (h/t Hindustan Times):

“They don't have a very settled middle order. In the T20I matches they played before, Fakhar Zaman played at No.3 or 4. Now he is just part of the squad, but not in the XI. Shan Masood is also there. although he is scoring runs. But I feel there selection hasn't been good. For Australia conditions, if they had a bowler who could seam up, like Mohammad Wasim did against Zimbabwe. And he also played a couple of good shots as well. He has that talent. Unke paas toh Hardik Pandya jaisa player hai (he's like Hardik Pandya), he's still new but I'm just giving the idea that he can play those lofty shots and can give you a couple of overs as well. And they did not play him against India. They played two spinners. That is okay in Sydney, but at other venues, you need a player who can give you 3-4 overs and can score 30 runs in the last few overs."

Babar Azam and co. could have surely used more quality in the middle and Waseem would have been an interesting pick for them. It will be interesting to see if they are willing to give the wily all-rounder an extended run in the side from now. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2022 campaign hangs in the balance after defeats to India and Zimbabwe. They would have to win their remaining games and depend on the other results going their way in order to make it to the final four of the competition. 

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