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'You sidelined a good player, portraying him as a 'bad boy': Rashid Latif slams PCB for 'throwing away' Pakistan star
The former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter spoke in detail about the player, insisting that the side missed his services against West Indies.
Earlier this month, Pakistan had secured a dominant 3-0 ODI series win over West Indies at home. The side's captain Babar Azam, as well as opener Imam-ul-Haq had shined with the bat; however, there were inconsistent performances from the side's middle-order. Many former Pakistan cricketers including former skippers Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi were critical of the selection committee's decision to include a young Mohammad Haris in the squad.
Haris played in all the games of the series but failed to step up, and former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif opened up on the side's worries in the middle-order – specifically at numbers 5 and 6. Latif criticized the selectors for phasing out batter Haris Sohail from the Pakistan squad; Sohail last played for Pakistan in January 2021 during a Test against New Zealand. In ODIs, his last appearance came in October 2020 against Zimbabwe.
“After the (2019) World Cup, Haris has played a total of three (ODI) matches at no.4 or 5. There are issues at this number, why aren't they being rectified? You have sidelined a good player, portraying him as a 'bad boy'. All the top players who played for Pakistan in the 90s were 'bad boys'. If you had the same mindset then, not a single one of them would've played for Pakistan!” Latif said on the YouTube channel Boss News.
Latif further said that Pakistan had missed the services of Sohail in the ODI series against West Indies, further insisting that the PCB can't “throw away” a player like him.
"According to me, we missed Haris. He's a technically sound player, can play good in away matches as well. He had some issues with injury, but you just can't throw a player away like that. What do you have at no.5 and 6?
