‘If selectors don’t like my face, they should be brave enough to say it’ Imad
KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-rounder Imad Wasim lashed out at the men’s national team coaches and said they should tell him if they don’t like his face.
Speaking to Pak Passion.net, Imad, who last represented Pakistan in an international match in November 2021, expressed his disappointment at not being chosen for the national team, while also holding the selectors responsible for justifying his exclusion of the international configuration.
“I am very disappointed about this and my feelings about this stem from the fact that I have performed so well for Pakistan and have not been picked for the team for a while now,” Imad told Pak Passion.net.
“Well if you don’t like my face you should be brave enough to say so and I’ll be fine with that! Seriously speaking, not selecting someone for the Pakistan team out of personal dislike is not only unfair to the player and his career, but it is also a disservice to our country as it is being deprived of the services of a good player. . Such actions will eventually cost the country dearly and I urge coaches not to think about players’ personal likes and dislikes when selecting squads,” he added.
The 33-year-old all-rounder, Imad, then sought a justification from the national men’s team’s chief coach, Mohammad Wasim, asking him to explain what exactly the latter means by below-average performances.
“It’s for him [Wasim] to explain exactly what he means by subpar performances. Are these recent matches you are referring to?
Or is he talking about the past where my performances haven’t been up to par? My performances are available for all to see, whether it is in the National One Day Cup or in the Pakistan Super League,” Imad said.
“I was an integral part of the team and I didn’t perform poorly and that must count for something. Before that, I was part of the Pakistan team where I performed well and in which we made it all the way to the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Anyone who makes claims like these needs to back them up with facts and it is really up to Mohammad Wasim to explain his reasoning with examples,” he added.
Imad went on to offer his opinion on chief selector Wasim’s claims that the latter’s fitness was unsatisfactory and stated that players with worse fitness than him were selected.
“I have no problem with this statement from the Chief Selector, as long as there is a specific fitness criteria that is consistently followed for selection purposes.
But what we see is that players with worse physical condition than me are selected, which tells me that the questions about my physical condition are just words, “Imad shared.
“Everybody knows what’s going on here and it seems like all these issues like fitness have been brought up to provide some kind of justification for keeping me off the team. If you have a proper response to what I’m saying, I’d love to hear it and you can talk to me about it,” she maintained.
It is pertinent to mention here that Imad represented Pakistan in 113 matches since making his debut for the Green Shirts in 2015. However, the all-rounder last wore the Pakistani jersey in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final clash against Australia.
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