Former fast bowler Tanveer Ahmed stirred up controversy after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the Asia Cup squad on Sunday. He claimed that if “respect” is their top priority, then Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who were both left out of the tournament, should follow in Virat Kohli’s footsteps and give up playing international cricket.
Tanveer Ahmed asks Rizwan and Babar to quit playing international cricket.
“Meri Babar Azam aur Rizwan say request hai ager ap log yeh samajhtey hain ap logon ke izzat nahi hai tou retirement ley lo international cricket say humarey samne Virat Kohli ke examples hain. @babarazam258, @iMRizwanPak, izzat apney hath main ha (My request to Babar Azam and Rizwan is that if you feel your respect is not intact, then consider retiring from international cricket. We have examples of Virat Kohli in front of us. Babar and Rizwan, respect is in your hands,” he tweeted.
It was generally accepted that Kohli abruptly announced his retirement from Test cricket in May in response to pressure from the BCCI. The board’s vice president, Rajeev Shukla, then stated that Kohli had the last say. “We feel the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The BCCI doesn’t order players to retire; they choose to do so. Last month, he stated, “It was their call.”
Pakistan’s head coach asked Babar to enhance his strike rate.
Babar was asked to increase his strike rate in the format, especially against spinners. He put up strong performances in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) later this year to force his way into the Pakistan T20I lineup for the World Cup the following year, Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson stated following the squad announcement.
“There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working hard on,” Hesson said.
“A player like Babar Azam has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider,” he added.
Tanveer also blamed Fakhar Zaman, who was forced to play for Pakistan in the Asia Cup despite suffering a left hamstring strain during the recent West Indies tour’s second Twenty20 International.
“Was Fakhar Zaman forced into the team, or was he included to prevent Babar Azam from being selected? How did Fakhar Zaman get in?” he asked.
