- Imad lashes out at national selectors for ignoring him.
- He asked the selectors to say what they have to at his face.
- He talks about his performance.
Imad Wasim, a Pakistani all-rounder, lashed out at the national men’s team selectors and demanded that they inform him if they don’t like his face.
In an interview with local media, Imad, who last played for Pakistan in an international match in November 2021, voiced his unhappiness at not being selected for the national team and held the selectors accountable for the reasoning behind his exclusion from the international setup.
“I am very disappointed by this and my feelings on this stem from the fact that I have performed so well for Pakistan and have not been picked for the team for a while now,” Imad said.
“Well if they don’t like my face, they should be brave enough to say it and I will be fine with that! Seriously though, not selecting someone for the Pakistan team because of personal dislike is not only unfair to the player and his career but it’s also a disservice to our country as it’s being deprived of the services of a good player. Such actions will eventually cost the country dearly and I urge the selectors to not think of personal likes and dislikes for players when selecting squads,” he added.
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Imad, a 33-year-old all-rounder, then sought justification from Mohammad Wasim, the chief selector of the national men’s squad, and asked him to clarify what he meant by “below par” performances.
“It’s for him [Wasim] to explain exactly what he means by performances which are below par. Are these recent matches he is referring to? Or is he speaking about the past where my performances have not been up to the mark? My performances are out there for all to see whether they are in the domestic One-Day Cup or in the Pakistan Super League,” Imad said.
“I was an integral part of the team and did not perform badly and that must count for something. Previous to that, I was part of the Pakistan side where I performed well and in which we went all the way through to the Semi-Final stage of the T20 World Cup in the UAE. Anyone who makes claims like these needs to back them with facts and it’s really up to Mohammad Wasim to explain his reasoning with examples,” he added.
Imad continued by commenting on head selector Wasim’s assertions that his fitness was mediocre and saying that players with inferior fitness were selected.
“I don’t have an issue with this statement from the Chief Selector as long as there is a specific fitness criteria which is being followed consistently for selection purposes. But what we see are players with worse fitness than me being selected which tells me that questions about my fitness are just talk,” Imad shared.
“Everyone knows what’s happening here and it seems that all these issues such as fitness have been put out there to provide some sort of justification to keep me out of the side. If they do have a proper answer to what I am saying, then I would love to hear that, and they can speak to me about it,” he maintained.
It is crucial to note that Imad has played in 113 matches for Pakistan since making his debut for the Green Shirts in 2015. However, the all-rounder last donned the Pakistani shirt in the semi-final match against Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
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