Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Thursday slammed Pakistan’s decision to omit Ahmed Shehzad from the upcoming Bangladesh T20I squad.
Taking to Twitter, Pietersen said that opening batsman had a decent record in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and despite that, he has been dropped from the side which is “stupid”.
“Just seen the team that PAKISTAN have picked to play Bangladesh. How on this planet can @iamahmadshazhad NOT be in that squad??? His PSL numbers and domestic number are so much better than the batter picked ahead of him! STUPID!” Pietersen tweeted.
Just seen the team that PAKISTAN have picked to play Bangladesh.
How on this planet can @iamahmadshazhad NOT be in that squad???
His PSL numbers and domestic number are so much better than the batter picked ahead of him!
STUPID!
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) January 16, 2020
Shehzad last played against Sri Lanka in the T20I in October 2019. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have returned to the Pakistani side for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
Malik played his last T20 game against Pakistan in February 2019 while Hafeez is returning to the side after a break of 14 months.
Haris Rauf, Ahsan Ali and Amad Ali have got their maiden call for the Bangladesh series.
Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, and Wahab Riaz have been ruled out of the side following a T20I series defeat against Australia.
Pakistan lost the three-match T20I series against Australia 2-0. The first T20I match was abandoned due to rain.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.
Bangladesh will play three T20I matches against the hosts on January 24, 25 and 27 in Lahore.