Former Pakistan cricketer Aaqib Javed has slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for ignoring Junaid Khan and selecting Mohammad Amir for the upcoming T20I series against England.
Amir earlier made himself unavailable from the three-match series to be with his wife, who was then expecting the birth of a second child.
However, the speedster expressed his desire to re-join the squad after the birth of his child. PCB acquiesced and included him as a replacement for Haris Rauf, who has contracted the coronavirus.
Javed was particularly unamused with this decision and lashed out on PCB for repeatedly favouring Amir.
“PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better,” remarked Javed, as quoted by Daily Times.
“Injustice has been done with Junaid and he has been ignored for no reason. PCB brought Amir back after that incident [spot-fixing ban] and since then he has given only one noteworthy performance, which was in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Apart from that, Amir has always struggled since his comeback.”
Javed further remarked that the decision to overlook Junaid is a grave injustice on the pacer as he is better than Amir in nearly all aspects.
“There is no clear policy regarding the future. PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better,” asserted the former cricketer.
“I think he is already going for the Twenty20 International matches because he doesn’t play Tests. When you already have around 10 fast-bowlers in the 29-member squad present in England, why do you need to call Amir? There is no clear policy regarding the future,” concluded Javed.
