Sahibzada Farhan’s exclusion from first Bangladesh T20I draws criticism

LAHORE: In-form top-order batter Sahibzada Farhan’s exclusion from Pakistan’s lineup for the first T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh, underway here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, has enraged fans.

Farhan finished as the leading run-scorer of the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10, scoring 449 runs in 12 innings at an average of 37.41 but was left out of the playing XI in favour of returning openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman.

As soon as Pakistan’s playing XI was announced after the toss, fans flocked to social media to express their disapproval and accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and team management of injustice.

“Feel bad for Sahibzada Farhan. If the selection was based on PSL Performance, Sahibzada Farhan deserves to open in place of Saim Ayub,” a user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Stop being unfair to Sahibzada Farhan already, man,” another user wrote.

Some cricket fans, however, were of the view that it was difficult for Sahibzada Farhan to find a place in the playing XI and instead were upbeat to see Fakhar and Saim opening together.

“Good playing xi and unfortunately no space for Sahibzada Farhan yet but it's difficult to adjust him in presence of Fakhar & Nawaz,” a user posted on X.

Saim and Fakhar, however, had forgetful outings with the bat as they were they got dismissed for zero and one, respectively.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha acknowledged at the toss that it was tough for them to select the playing XI as all of the 16 players in the squad were in good form and had a great PSL.

“It was a tough decision to make XI, because the 16 we have, they all are in very good form, and they had a great PSL, and we just wanted to play modern day cricket, and want to take the game on all the time with a bat, ball and fielding, and this is what you expect from us going forward,” Agha said.