Mark Butcher has urged Imad Wasim to consider a u-turn on his international retirement for the T20 World Cup following his Player of the Match performance in the PSL final.
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Imad took the first-ever five-wicket haul in a PSL final in the match against Multan Sultans, and also played an important role with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 19 as Islamabad United secured the win off the final ball of the game. In the Eliminator, Imad hit 59 off 40 balls to guide Islamabad home in a tough chase and secure a place in the final. He was named Player of the Match in each of Islamabad United’s three playoff games.
Having announced his retirement from international cricket last year, the possibility of Imad reversing his decision to bolster Pakistan’s T20 World Cup chances has circulated. After making his international debut in 2015, Imad has played 55 ODIs and 66 T20Is for Pakistan, the most recent of which came against New Zealand in Rawalpindi in April last year.
“He’s unbelievably cool under fire,” said Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast. “Very, very unemotional, reads pitch conditions very quickly, both bowling and batting. We saw him take all the pace off the ball, bowling in the final on a pitch which didn’t really turn if he fired it in, but would if you took the pace off and were brave in that regard.
“He was brave in the Eliminator, took two when they were five down against [Peshawar] Zalmi, dead and buried. Halfway through the tenth over I watched him very calmly nudge a ball just wide of extra cover and take one. I said on commentary at the time, this is the kind of batting that starts to scare the life out of you as a fielding captain, because he’s basically taking one every ball he faced and then inevitably a bad ball would come along and they were going at tens without taking any risks. And they won it with an over to spare, Haider Ali put his foot down at the back end and they won the game.
“It was so calculated and unemotional and so almost un-Pakistani in a way, that it was inevitable that they were going to take out that run chase. In all three innings in those knockout matches that they won back-to-back, his bowling was exactly the same. Very, very clever, very clam, read the conditions brilliantly, came out with figures of one, two, three for nothing at the end of three games. If you’re telling me there’s a better option than him, a utility player with experience and big-match temperament then I want to see him.”
Pakistan’s most recent T20I series ended in defeat to New Zealand, where they lost the five-match series 4-1. They will begin their World Cup campaign against USA on June six, following a T20I series in England in May.
Imad has previously opened the bowling for Pakistan in T20Is, taking 49 T20I wickets when fulfilling that role. However, a series of injuries as well as concerns over his fitness marked the final years of his international career, and at 35 the door is rapidly closing. Prior to his retirement, he spoke out about his prolonged absence from the Pakistan fold, saying: “They [selectors] never told the reason behind keeping me away from the national team for last one and a half year.”
However, his returns in the PSL, where his economy rate of 6.6 was better than other comparable bowler, mean he’s facing calls to return for one last time.
“They really need a bit of chill,” says Butcher, of Pakistan’s T20I side. “And I don’t know how many times you can prove it, that’s the point. You see a lot of players who’ve got flashy shots and bowl the odd brilliant delivery but then when the pressure comes on they kind of wilt. But he gets bigger the more difficult or the more pressure is on. You need guys like that in you team if you’re going to win big tournaments.”
