Pakistani fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani to be penalized for publicly criticizing selection committee

Dahani responded to Rashid Latif’s post by saying “Seems as if Dahani is not a Pakistani pacer??,” on X, formerly Twitter regarding a list shared by the former captain

Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the squad for the Asia Cup and the ODI series against Afghanistan. The squad was much on expected lines with the likes of Imam- ul- Haq, Fakhar Zaman, and Babar Azam forming the nucleus of the batting order.

While there were a few surprises as well like the exclusion of Shan Masood and Shahnawaz Dahani from the squad both of whom have been quite impressive in the past few years. Interestingly Shan Masood was named the vice-captain of the team for the ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year which Pakistan won.

However, the left-hander was dropped from the eleven in the first match of the series. Masood who made a spectacular comeback to the team last year on the back of an impressive performance in the T20 Blast continued his good run of form in the shortest format and helped Pakistan reach the final of the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, his numbers in ODI cricket haven’t been great.

The Performance

Talking about Dahani, the fast bowler bust on the scene during PSL 2021 where he impressed everyone with his pace. His performances were decent enough to earn him a place in Pakistan’s squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup. Although he did not get a chance to play in the final eleven he has been with the team since then and has played a few matches as well.

With Pakistan having a set-pace attack in Shaheen Afridi Naseem Shah Mohmmad Wasim Jr and Harris Rauf Dahani’s chances of making the Asia Cup squad were minimal and that’s exactly what happened. The selectors chose all-rounder Faheem Ashraf who has been doing well in domestic cricket over Shahnawaz Dahani which did not go down well with the young fast bowler.

The Response

The fast bowler targeted former Pakistani captain Rashid Latif after he shared a list of the List A records of Pakistani fast bowlers which did not have the name of Shahnawaz Dahani. The fast bowler responded “Seems as if Dahani is not a Pakistani pacer??,” Dahani responded to Latif’s post on X, formerly Twitter.

Notably, Dahani has 56 wickets to his name in 31 List-A games. Among the current crop of players, only Shaheen Afridi (75) and Faheem Ashraf (92) have more wickets than him. The response has led PCB to penalize the fast bowler for publicly criticizing journalists or the selection committee.