• Babar Azam revealed reason for leaving out Mohammad Haris.
• Haris has participated in nine T20Is for Pakistan.
• The Pakistan team is scheduled to play three T20Is in Ireland.

On Monday, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam provided insight into the decision to leave out wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris from the squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.

Haris was not included in Pakistan’s squad for the T20I series against Ireland and England, and is expected to miss the World Cup, which commences on June 1, in the United States and West Indies.

In a press conference prior to the team’s departure for Ireland tomorrow, Babar explained that Haris was not selected due to the abundance of top-order options already available.

“I agree that Haris didn’t get many opportunities after the T20 World Cup [in 2022]. His number is in the top order which already includes me, Rizwan, Saim and Fakhar which is why there were limited opportunities for him. However, Haris did get a chance during PSL 9 but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do well but this doesn’t mean he is a bad player as every player goes through a rough patch,” Babar stated.

“We had a discussion about where Haris would play if he is selected. If he had been included, his position would have been in the lower middle-order. We are quick to make comparisons without thinking about his position in the batting order.

“We wanted to select the best possible squad which fits the team’s requirements at every position.”

Haris has participated in nine T20Is for Pakistan, scoring 126 runs at a strike-rate of 127.27. He has an average of 14 and a highest score of 31 in the game’s shortest format.

The Pakistan team is scheduled to play three T20Is in Ireland, followed by four in England. After the series in England, Pakistan will depart for the United States to participate in the T20 World Cup.

The squad of 18 players, announced for the T20Is against Ireland and England, will be trimmed to 15 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 following the first T20I against England on May 22.

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