Pakistan fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani did not mince words as he fumed at the selection committee after he was excluded from the squad for the impending Asia Cup. But although he was quick to delete the tweets, screenshots of the social media post went viral all over the internet leaving Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to act against it. The Zaka Ashraf-led board has issued a verbal warning to the Pakistan star for publicly criticising the selection committee.
Although Dahani last played an ODI for Pakistan in June 2022, he has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit where he picked 17 wickets in seven matches in the 2022/23 Pakistan One Day Cup tournament at an average of 19.82. He also put on an impressive show in Pakistan's tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year we picked up 13 wickets before later registering a five-wicket haul in the match against Nepal in Emerging Asia Cup.
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With Dahani left out, the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led selection committee picked Naseem Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shaheen Afridi for the pace department. Left vexed at the ignorance, Dahani first replied to a tweet from former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif, who the recent stats of all the Pakistan pacers. With Dahani's name not on that list, the fast bowler corrected him by highlighting his List A records. Her captioned it: “Seems as if Dahani is not a Pakistani pacer."
{{/usCountry}}With Dahani left out, the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led selection committee picked Naseem Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shaheen Afridi for the pace department. Left vexed at the ignorance, Dahani first replied to a tweet from former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif, who the recent stats of all the Pakistan pacers. With Dahani's name not on that list, the fast bowler corrected him by highlighting his List A records. Her captioned it: “Seems as if Dahani is not a Pakistani pacer."
{{/usCountry}}Although Latif later apologised for the mistake, Dahani vented out his frustration yet again at the lack of discussion over his omission as he wrote: “Not even a single journalist or cricket analyst even dared to ask questions or show these stats to selectors. #ripsportsjournalim”
Although he deleted both the tweets, Dahani reportedly got a call from PCB officials and was rebuked for going public with such controversial comments, according to PTI.
With Pakistan still having time to make amends to their squad before the proceedings move towards the ODI World Cup, Dahani might earn a call-up or could be moved to the Asian Games squad as well.