Pakistan Star Set To Be Penalised For Outburst Over Asia Cup Omission: Report
Pakistan named an 18-player squad will take on Afghanistan in Sri Lanka from 22 to 26 August, and it will be trimmed to 17 players for the Asia Cup.
Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani expressed his frustration after being left out of the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Dahani and Shan Masood missed out on selection for the continental tournament, with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf recalled to the side after almost two years. Disappointed with his omission from the squad, Dahani slammed former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif, who shared the List A stats of Pakistani fast bowlers. The list, however, did not have Dahani's stats on it.
"Seems as if Dahani is not a Pakistani pacer??," Dahani responded to Latif's post on X, formerly Twitter.
Notably, Dahani has 56 wickets to his name in 31 List A games. Among the current crop of players, only Shaheen Afridi (75) and Faheem Ashraf (92) have more wickets than him.
PCB will Take Action Against Shahnawaz Dahani for criticising journalists or the selection Committee for no reason. pic.twitter.com/9khHSbiGG9
— Shaharyar Ejaz (@SharyOfficial) August 10, 2023
Dahani also slammed the journalists over his omission, adding that no one had dared to raise questions or bring attention to the stats that support his inclusion in the squad.
"Not even single journalist or cricket analyst even dared to ask questions or show these stats to selectors," Dahani wrote in a post on X.
Shahnawaz Dahani isn't happy with the Selection of Asia Cup Squad #Cricket #Pakistan #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/4Ub14CBOku
— Muhammad Noman (@nomanedits) August 10, 2023
However, Dahani later deleted his tweets. It has been reported that the pacer is likely to penalised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over his outburst.
On Wednesday, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, the head of the national men's selection committee, announced squads for the ACC Men's Asia Cup and the three-match One-Day International series against Afghanistan.
An 18-player squad will take on Afghanistan in Sri Lanka from 22 to 26 August, and it will be trimmed to 17 players for the Asia Cup, which begins from the Multan Cricket Stadium on 30 August when Pakistan plays Nepal.
Pakistan Squad:
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saud Shakeel (only Afghanistan series), Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir
Pakistan Cricket Team