Pakistan captain Babar Azam thinks that including Shan Masood in the side as a middle-order batter would be unfair with the left-hander.
The 32-year-old is part of the Test squad as the third opener, but his form across formats has stirred a debate about including him in all three formats.
Masood is currently leading Derbyshire Falcons in T20 Blast while he was the top scorer for them in the County Championship with 844 runs before the T20 competition started.
Last week, Chief selector Mohammad Wasim also revealed that he is close to getting picked in the white-ball squads, preferably in middle-order but it seems like Babar Azam is not satisfied with the idea.
“Shan Masood bats at the top of the order and he has not batted lower down the order. I think it would be unfair with Shan to play him at the fifth or sixth spot, we have an eye on him and will be considered viewing the balance of the side,” Babar said in a press conference in Lahore.
On the other hand, Babar opined that it would be early to include emerging wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris in the side.
“It is too early to give him a chance, Rizwan has not been performing as expected in ODIs but he is still adding value at his position. Our combination is balanced and I have full faith in Rizwan as he is behind my back always,” he added.
Meanwhile, Babar is focused on a clean sweep in the home ODI series against West Indies. “The matches will not be taken lightly, the series in the ICC World Cup League is important and will try to get all the points.”
Babar also reflected on the weather of Multan, where the matches will be played.
“No doubt that it will be very hot in Multan but we have tried to get accustomed to the weather in the conditioning camp. The aim of starting training sessions late afternoon to ensure that playing in Multan does not become more difficult,” he added.
It must be noted that the three-match ODI series will be played from June 8-12 in Multan, with the matches starting at 1600 PKT time.
