T20 World Cup 2022: Pakistan’s best XI among non-selected players for mega event

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Some of the seasoned players like Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, among others have not been included in Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2022.

Pakistan have named their 15-member squad for the next month’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia with batting sensation Babar Azam to lead them and Shadab Khan as his deputy. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been criticized heavily by experts and many former greats of the game for not bolstering their fragile middle-order which has kept getting exposed since the Asia Cup 2022.

While veteran Shoaib Malik and former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s non-selection was what made the experts angry, there are other promising players who rightfully deserved a chance to represent the Men in Green in the showpiece event down under.

While some of them are well-known names, other are emerging talents and without further ado, here’s a look at Pakistan’s best XI among the non-selected players for the marquee tournament:

1. Sharjeel Khan

Sharjeel Khan was one of Pakistan’s promising batters who regularly used to feature in the playing XI before a Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing scandal in 2017 sabotaged his playing career. Since then he has only made sporadic appearances for Pakistan and has not played a game for them since August 2021.

However, the selectors did not consider naming him even in the reserves for the upcoming T20 World Cup despite showcasing consistent performances in the Pakistan National T20 Cup and scoring runs in crunch games.

Sharjeel amassed 328 runs across 12 games in the National T20 Cup at an impressive strike rate of 138.39. His outings included a century and a half-century. Sharjeel finished the tournament as the fourth-highest run getter.