‘Shoaib’s exclusion makes no sense, he’s the best player’: Shaista Lodhi slams PCB

Former morning show host and actor Shaista Lodhi took to her Instagram stories to school Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for ousting Shoaib Malik from the Asia Cup 2022 squad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2022.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced last month that the Asia Cup 2022 will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from August 27 to September 11. However, Sri Lanka will still officially have hosting rights.  The Asia Cup, which was last played in 2018, will be played in the T20 format, with nine teams participating.

Shoaib Malik and Shan Masood are not part of Pakistan’s batting squad while fast bowler Naseem Shah has replaced Hasan Ali.

Malik is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in Asia Cup. He has scored 907 runs in 21 matches with an average of 64.78.

Shoaib was part of the T20 World Cup 2021 and scored 101 runs in the tournament with a match-winning knock of 54 on 18 balls against Scotland.

“It’s been 25 years but Pakistan has not found a replacement for Shoaib Malik,” said former Pakistani cricketer Aaqib Javed said in an interview.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2022: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

Earlier this year on Geo’s Jashan-e-Cricket, the Pardes diva got candid about her career, colleagues, politicians, and some recent controversies.

On being asked by the host Shahzad Iqbal if Shaista’s morning show is better than Nadia’s, she was quick to say that yes her own show is better than Nadia’s.

As a follow-up question, Shahzad asked for her comment on Nadia and politician Sharmila Faruqi’s social media feud, on which the talented actor said that yes they should sort out differences but, “Nadia itni bhi masoom nahi hai.”

She also revealed that many leading politicians have gotten whitening injections from her.

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