Every News: Does Yasir Shah deserve a place in Pak ODI squad?

Does Yasir Shah deserve a place in Pak ODI squad?
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LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team has departed for England to feature in a solitary T20 and 5-match ODI series against hosts England prior to ICC World Cup scheduled to start from May 30, 2019.Pakistan suffered a blow even before their departure to England when young talented leg-spinner Shadab Khan was ruled out of ODI series with health issues. PCB selection committee headed by former skipper Inzmamul Haq, named Test match specialist Yasir Shah as Shadab’s replacement for England series, which will be played from May 5-19.Cricket quarters across the country have expressed their astonishment over the questionable approach of PCB selectors and extraordinary kindness being shown towards Yasir Shah for a place in national ODI squad. A couple of weeks ago, the ‘resting’ of Pakistan’s six key players and selection of non-specialists like Yasir Shah and Mohammad Abbas for five-match ODI series against Australia in UAE was also widely criticized. Even, Prime Minister of Pakistan and World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan had also expressed his reservations over poor selection of national team for the important ODI series against Australia.It is pertinent to mention here PCB selection committee did not mend its questionable selection methods despite the severe annoyance shown by the country’s Prime Minister.Strangely, PCB selectors announced Yasir Shah as part of 23 probables named for World Cup just to pave the way for his inclusion in national ODI squad despite his highly ordinary performance in the limited overs cricket.As far as his performance in ODIs and T20s is concerned, Yasir took only 23 wickets in 24 ODIs at an expansive average of 47.39. He also featured in only two T20s so far but could not take a wicket.Swabi-born Yasir also remained unimpressive in recently-played ODI series against Australia and 4th edition of PSL. He took just four wickets at a pathetic average of 70.75 in five ODIs against Australia in the UAE. His figures in five PSL matches for Lahore Qalandars were three wickets at 45.33.Interestingly, Yasir was also part of Pakistan’s World Cup squad in 2015 but he remained wicket-less and conceded 60 runs in eight overs in his only appearance against India at Adelaide. Realizing his ineffectiveness, then captain Misbahul Haq did not consider him for the remaining matches of World Cup.On the other hand, Pakistan has several young talented spin bowlers like Umer Khan, Muhammad Nawaz and Muhammad Asghar who should have been given a chance to play in ODI series against Aussies but surprisingly our honorable selectors preferred ‘ineffective’ Yasir Shah, who is more popular for his feats in Test match cricket.ODI series against Australia was a golden chance to try talented spinners but Pakistan squandered that opportunity by including Yasir Shah, who has never been a match-winner or impressive performer at least in ODIs. The career figures of three spinners, Umer Khan, Nawaz and Asghar reflected that any one of them especially young Umer Khan could have been a better option for World Cup than Yasir. Rawalpindi-born Umer, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, grabbed the centre stage in PSL-4 through his extraordinary performance taking 15 wickets at an impressive average of 16.13 in 11 matches for Karachi Kings.Umer, 19, also demonstrated his exceptional talent in his only first class match taking seven wickets at 15.28. Similarly, Nawaz and Asghar also have better career record than Yasir in ODIs and T20s.One fails to understand why PCB selectors are selecting Test specialist like Yasir Shah in ODI squad. By doing so PCB selectors not only wasting huge money but also depriving deserving youngsters of a chance to prove their mettle. Yasir Shah, who is definitely an asset of the country in Test match format, must focus on playing only Test matches in future.