Reports: Babar Azam wants Shoaib Malik's inclusion in T20I squad, chief selector Mohammad Wasim disagrees

With the 2021 edition of the high-voltage being just a couple of months away, all participating teams are busy finalizing their strategy and squads. Pakistan are indeed one of the teams to watch out for in the competition with the side comprising several T20 stars. However, the Men in Green have some issues to resolve in their middle order.

While skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been delivering consistently in the top order, other batters haven’t been contributing that well. Owing to the fact, Azam reportedly wants veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the T20I team but chief selector Mohammad Wasim is not of the same opinion. Malik last represented Pakistan in September 2020. However, the right-handed batter has been in impressive form lately. Hence, Azam feels that his return would solve Pakistan’s middle-order crisis.

As reported by Cricket Pakistan, Babar has asked Wasim to add Malik in the T20I squad several times but the chief selector is not in favor of including the senior all-rounder. With Malik being 39, Mohammad Wasim believes the former Pakistan captain won’t fit in the T20I team. Hence, it would be interesting to see if Malik makes a comeback in the national team or not.

Shoaib Malik has been in fine form lately

For the unversed, Malik has been enjoying a sensational run lately. Playing for Peshawar Zalmi in Pakistan Super League 2021, the dasher scored 354 runs in 13 games with his strike rate touching 150. He continued his stellar run in the recently-concluded Kashmir Premier League (KPL) as well. Malik slammed 240 runs in seven outings. Hence, Azam has all the reasons to bring Malik back in the scheme of things.

However, he needs to receive a green signal from the chief selector as well. Meanwhile, the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup will get underway on October 17. With pitches in UAE and Oman being similar to Pakistan tracks, the Men in Green would be backing themselves to get the glory. However, winning consistently has been a cause of concern for them lately. They were even defeated by a second-stringed England squad in July. Hence, they have some work to do ahead of the global competition.