Muhammad Aamir, Wahab Riaz named in Pakistan's World Cup squad
Karachi, May 20: Experienced left-arm pace duo of Muhammad Aamir and Wahab Riaz were included in Pakistan's final 15-member World Cup squad following their 0-4 loss to England in the ODI series.
Both the bowlers were not included in the initial World Cup squad announced last month but Aamir, who is yet to recover from chickenpox, was named for the one-day series against England which Pakistan completed on Sunday.
The selectors have axed allrounder Faheem Ashraf and left-arm pacer Junaid Khan from their initial World Cup squad to make way for the two senior players.
The selectors had discarded Wahab from the tour to England but after the thrashing given to the Pakistani pacers in the one-day series they apparently had a change of mind.
Wahab, who turns 34 next month, last played a one-day international for his country in the opening match of the 2017 Champions Trophy against India going for 87 runs without a wicket and than limping off with an injury.
Since than the selectors have ignored him for 50-overs cricket while Aamir also didn't feature in the series against England after contracting chickenpox and his form remains a concern after he took just five wickets in his last 14 ODIs since the Champions Trophy.
According to the cricket board, Aamir has recovered from his chickenpox and he and Wahab will be available for the warm-up matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh this week.
In another major decision, the selectors have dropped young batsman Abid Ali from their World Cup squad to make way for the hard-hitting Asif Ali.
Ali was initially not part of the World Cup squad and went to England for the ODI series where he scored two half centuries.
"The lack of potency of our frontline bowlers in the recent ODI series meant that a change was needed. In addition, we now know that we will encounter batting wickets throughout the World Cup campaign," Chief Selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq said.
"The combination of these elements, meant that we believed right now, utilising the World Cup experience and knowledge of Wahab was the correct choice," he said.
"Wahab has been training and playing club cricket, and the player of his calibre will not face much problem in adapting and adjusting to the gruelling demands of the World Cup," Inzamam said.
On the exclusion of Abid Ali, Inzamam said: "It was not an easy decision to leave him out particularly after he got only one opportunity on the tour. But, he was our third choice opener. After both struck early form, we preferred Asif Ali as he brings firepower to the team that can strengthen our chances in the tournament," the Chief Selector said.
Abid, despite being a member of the initial World Cup squad, was given just one opportunity on the entire tour.
Inzamam said the final 15-member squad was announced in consultation with the captain and head coach.
Wahab has been included in the squad in place of allrounder, Faheem Ashraf while the experienced left arm pacer, Junaid Khan has also been dropped after playing in just two ODI matches against England.
Pakistan World Cup squad: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Asif Ali, Shoaib Malik, Muhammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (Capt), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Aamir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Muhammad Hasnain.
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Ashok Gehlot accuses BJP-RSS of distorting history, criticises Centre's handling of farmer protest
Jaipur (PTI): Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday alleged that members of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have launched a campaign to distort the historical facts of the country's freedom struggle.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had remarked that those who distort history will never be able to make history, Gehlot noted.
"The people of the BJP-RSS have launched a campaign to tamper with the freedom struggle and its historical facts," Gehlot said on X.
He added that there are numerous examples, both in history and the present, where organisations with similar ideologies that came to power attempted to rewrite history with false facts but were ridiculed by historians.
The Congress leader also said that leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh and Maulana Azad made special contributions to the freedom struggle, which have been written in golden letters in history and will remain indelible.
"No matter how much they try to distort it, they will never change the truth," Gehlot said.
He also drew a parallel with Pakistan and Bangladesh saying, "When Zia-ul-Haq came to power in Pakistan, he started rewriting the history of the country and wrote in the books that Pakistan was victorious over India in the 1971 war. The same is being done in Bangladesh now where efforts are being made to remove the name of Sheikh Mujiburahman from the freedom struggle of Bangladesh. Such efforts are destroying the credibility of these countries in the world."
Gehlot also accused the Centre and the Punjab government of being indifferent to the health of farmer leader Jagdeep Singh Dallewal.
"It has been 51 days now since farmer leader Shri Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a hunger strike. His health is continuously deteriorating. During this period, the Central and Punjab governments have shown complete insensitivity," he said.
Gehlot added that this was the reason why 111 other farmers had also been forced to go on a hunger strike to bring attention to their demands.
He said that the government listened to them after about 700 farmers lost their lives in protest against the three black farmer laws.
"It is beyond understanding why such a situation arises again and again and why the government does not want to find a solution by talking to the farmers' delegation," he said.
