Pakistan’s head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq suffered considerable backlash after his decision to drop slow left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti, from the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, without playing a single match during his time with the national side.

Bhatti was part of Pakistan’s Test squad for the series against Australia Down Under and also the home series against Sri Lanka, but he did not feature in the playing XI on both occasions.

Bhatti, along with pacer Usman Khan Shinwari, have been left out but they remain in the red-ball plans and have been advised to continue their training and preparation, according to Misbah.

“We have followed the horses for courses policy for the Test against Bangladesh. I know the two players who have been left out will be disappointed, but they remain firmly within our plans for the red-ball cricket we are scheduled to play later this year,” said Misbah.

“Kashif Bhatti has paved the way for Bilal Asif considering there are left-handed batters in the Bangladesh top and middle-order, while Faheem Ashraf has been preferred over Usman Shinwari due to his all-round abilities,” he added.

But Pakistan fans were unhappy over this decision and took to Twitter to express their disappointment.