The former captain has put his vote of confidence on left-hand batsman Shan Masood to open for Pakistan at this year’s T20 World Cup in Oman and UAE, starting October 17.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has cited form shown by Masood in the Pakistan Super League and Kashmir Premier League this year to back his case for T20 World Cup selection.
Playing for Multan Sultans in PSL 2021, Masood produced 209 runs in his seven innings at a strike-rate of 142.17. In the maiden KPL that followed, he scored 254 runs from five innings at an average of 50.80 and strike-rate of 144.31.
“I saw him (Masood) playing at the PSL and the KPL. If there is anyone who has played better than everyone else [in recent days] then it is Shan Masood. He does sensible hitting through proper shots at a very healthy strike rate.
He knows how to rotate strike. So if I have a choice, I will definitely consider him. He is a good fielder and an excellent team player,”
said Inzamam in a video over his Youtube channel.
Further on Pakistan’s T20 World Cup selection, Inzamam thinks Babar Azam & co. should opt for Asif Ali at No.6 spot.
“At the sixth position, we need a player who can hit big shots at any time. And that player is Asif Ali. He hasn’t been a reliable player but he has developed some maturity in his batting and plays sensibly now,”
he said.
Asif, the middle-order right-hand batsman, has featured in 29 T20Is for Pakistan with 344 runs at a strike-rate of 123.74.
Pakistan, part of Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals India in Dubai on October 24.
