Cricket
Watch: Virender Sehwag exposes bias in Pakistan cricket – Times of India
Former India opener Virender Sehwag didn’t hold back in expressing his opinion on Pakistan cricket in the wake of their T20 World Cup debacle, accusing their current chief selector Wahab Riaz of bias, which is hurting the country’s cricket.
Riaz, a former Pakistan pacer, was in November last year appointed the head of the selection committee by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Incidentally, it coincided with the comeback of veteran pacer Mohammad Amir to the national squad.
Amir, who used to play alongside Riaz, was part of the Pakistan squad that played the ongoing T20 World Cup and exited in the group-stage itself after defeats against India and USA.
It led to the team drawing a lot of flak from the Pakistan public and former cricketers, with Riaz and skipper Babar Azam central to that criticism, besides questions on team’s fitness and selection of certain players.
Reacting to that on a Cricbuzz show, Sehwag said: “Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, these are two names who criticized Pakistan team on the same TV channel, giving their comments…Today, one of them is a selector (Riaz) and one is in the playing eleven (Amir).”
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“So the same persons who were criticizing, if today they have power, became the selector, what have they done first up? ‘Mohammad Amir was with me, let’s select him’. It’s like if Ajit Agarkar is chairman (of BCCI selection committee) today, he will say ‘come Viru, come Zak (Zahir Khan)’, I will facilitate your comeback’,” Sehwag added.
While not mincing his words on the biased attitude of Pakistan selectors, Sehwag advised them to “not do favours”.
“You have become a selector, you have to look at the future. You have a job, make the right use of it, don’t do favours. That hard step selectors will have to take,” said Sehwag.
Riaz, a former Pakistan pacer, was in November last year appointed the head of the selection committee by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Incidentally, it coincided with the comeback of veteran pacer Mohammad Amir to the national squad.
Amir, who used to play alongside Riaz, was part of the Pakistan squad that played the ongoing T20 World Cup and exited in the group-stage itself after defeats against India and USA.
It led to the team drawing a lot of flak from the Pakistan public and former cricketers, with Riaz and skipper Babar Azam central to that criticism, besides questions on team’s fitness and selection of certain players.
Reacting to that on a Cricbuzz show, Sehwag said: “Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, these are two names who criticized Pakistan team on the same TV channel, giving their comments…Today, one of them is a selector (Riaz) and one is in the playing eleven (Amir).”
WATCH VIDEO
“So the same persons who were criticizing, if today they have power, became the selector, what have they done first up? ‘Mohammad Amir was with me, let’s select him’. It’s like if Ajit Agarkar is chairman (of BCCI selection committee) today, he will say ‘come Viru, come Zak (Zahir Khan)’, I will facilitate your comeback’,” Sehwag added.
While not mincing his words on the biased attitude of Pakistan selectors, Sehwag advised them to “not do favours”.
“You have become a selector, you have to look at the future. You have a job, make the right use of it, don’t do favours. That hard step selectors will have to take,” said Sehwag.
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