'There is a group of players who are like cancer to the team' - Former Pakistan chief selector highlights glaring aspect of team

Pakistan are having a disastrous T20 World Cup 2024 as the team has lost two matches in a row and is on the brink of getting ousted from the tournament. They lost to minnows, United States of America in their first game and succumbed to mighty India in their second game. The performances of the players have been under intense scrutiny and having said that, former Pakistan cricket team chief selector Mohammad Wasim has come hard at Imad Wasim.

Imad, who called off his retirement from international cricket ahead of T20 World Cup 2024, missed the first game citing side strain. However, he played the game against India and bowled decently well even though he did not pick any wickets. Wasim claimed that Imad has been hiding his injury for several years now and also added that the spinner was dropped during his tenure for the same reason.

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"There have been reports of a rib injury. However, he (Imad) has a knee injury and he has been hiding it for the last few years. He was bowling in the nets and it was just a fake news that was circulated. We speak so much about Azam Khan's fitness but for the last five years, he has been suffering from the same problem. He was dropped from the side because of that exact reason and even I dropped Imad during my tenure so that he could work on his off-field issues and improve his fitness," said Wasim as quoted by NDTV Sports.

If they are in the team, this side cannot win: Wasim

Pakistan have not won an ICC silverware since their Champions Trophy title in 2017. They even came close to winning the T20 World Cup 2022 but were thwarted by England in Australia. Amidst all this, Pakistan cricket has witnessed frequent changes in leadership, coaches, and board members. Wasim highlighted that several coaches have previously reckoned the growing malice within the team due to several players.

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“I will not take names here but I can tell you that as many as four coaches believes that there is a group of players who are like 'cancer' to the team. If they are in the team, this side cannot win. I tried to get rid of them but the team management once again have decided to bring them back," he added.