Reports | Naseem Shah to be replaced from U-19 WC squad after being named in senior team

Reports | Naseem Shah to be replaced from U-19 WC squad after being named in senior team

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After being criticised from many quarters, Pakistan Cricket Board are set to replace Naseem Shah from the U-19 squad as he will be in the Test team for the Sri Lanka series which will also mark the return of Test cricket to Pakistan. Two reserve pacers have already been named in the national camp.

There were a lot of hype surrounding Naseem Shah's debut in Australia but theĀ 16-year-old failed to live up to any of it and rendered quite ineffective. Upon returning to Pakistan, Naseem was named in Pakistanā€™s 15-member squad for the U-19 World Cup in South Africa. However, the decision suffered a lot of backlashes from many quarters as the likes of Rashid Latif stated that it was a disgrace for Pakistan's talent-management system.

Things took an interesting turn on Sunday as the senior national teamā€™s head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq named Naseem in a 16-member squad that will play against Sri Lanka in two Tests this month in Rawalpindi and Karachi. The ICC U-19 World Cup will clash with the Pakistan vs Bangladesh two-match Test series and three T20 International contest in January, which means Naseem is effectively ruled out of the tournament.

ā€œTwo reserve pacers have already been named in the camp and if Naseem is required for national duty he will be replaced as he canā€™t play for both the senior and junior teams,ā€ the source said, reported Sportstar.

If that goes ahead, it would also mean a spanner in Pakistan's works as far as their aspiration to win the U-19 cricket world cup is concerned as there have been talks that Pakistan lack a proper gen-y bowler who could be as effective as Naseem.Ā 

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