Junaid Khan poses in black with tape on his mouth after World Cup snub

Junaid played only two out of four completed matches against England.

Published - 20 May 2019, 19:50 IST | Updated - 20 May 2019, 19:50 IST

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Only last month, everything was fine for Junaid Khan. He was included in Pakistan’s provisional World Cup squad ahead of Mohammad Amir and completely deserved it as well. At the same time, the squad was also picked for the England series as Pakistan were to play five ODIs and a T20I ahead of the World Cup. Fast forward to May 20 and Junaid Khan was dropped from the team for a poor show in the two matches of the ODI series.

Amir, despite not playing even a single game due to suspected chickenpox, made a comeback to the side after the bowlers went for plenty of runs on the flat England pitches. The chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq cleared Amir brings experience to the table and his economy has been better over the last few months which led to him being selected. But he replaced Junaid who was given only two matches to prove his mettle before being axed.

Like other bowlers, the left-arm pacer also was taken away for plenty. He conceded as many as 142 runs in the 18 overs he bowled and thus fell off the radar. Also, in one of the practice matches in the lead up to the series, Junaid had conceded a lot of runs and had failed to control the run-flow.

Truth is bitter

The World Cup snub has surely not gone down well with Junaid Khan. One can argue that the cricketer got very limited opportunities over the last 12 months or so and he impressed every time. Also, in the recently concluded ODI series, he was never the first preferred bowler for Pakistan skipper as he was only included in the playing XI in the third ODI and then was dropped for the final game. He could pick only two wickets in those matches. But all the bowlers had struggled in the series.

Expressing his disappointment over the axing, Junaid Khan wrote in his tweet, “I dont want to say anything. Truth is bitter. (Sach karwa hotha hai).” This message was the caption to a picture in which the cricketer could be seen standing with tape on his mouth and it is clearly a dig at the selectors. Junaid Khan is not even in the reserves list as only Faheem Ashraf, Abid Ali and Mohammad Rizwan will stay in England as a backup.