Usama Mir breaks silence on T20 World Cup snub, shows support for unplayed Abrar Ahmed

Pakistan's leg-spinner Usama Mir has spoken out about his exclusion from the national squad for the recently concluded ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, held in the USA and West Indies. 

In a candid interview with a local sports platform, Mir shared his disappointment and confusion over the decision made by the previous selection committee.

Mir, who was the leading wicket-taker in this year's PSL with 24 wickets in 12 matches, revealed that he was informed of his exclusion due to the team’s pre-decided combination. 

"At that time, the chief selector told me that they had prepared a combination, which surprised me when they mentioned that they had included a leg-spinner [Shadab] and a mystery spinner [Abrar]. What surprised me was that if they had chosen a leg-spinner, why wasn't he bowling? And why wasn't the mystery spinner playing in the match? If this is a combination, it was somewhat disturbing me because the reason they gave me was utterly opposite to what happened," Usama said.

The leg spinner emphasized that despite the setback, he remains focused on improving his game. 

"I have always prayed for Pakistan to perform at its best, and when we lost matches, especially to the USA, I felt a lot of frustration. I was told that I wasn't picked for this reason, but anyway, it's part of life, and I took it as a positive sign and a test. Whatever shortcomings there were, I will work to cover them in the future," he said.

The 28-year-old also expressed his surprise over the decision not to field Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan's 'Mystery Spinner,' who was part of the squad but did not play a single match in the tournament. 

"I was very surprised that the mystery spinner [Abrar Ahmed] wasn't included, even though he had performed well and is a good bowler. He should have been given a chance; they should have tested him out. Who knows, he might have covered the area we were lacking in the middle. I had high hopes for him and was very confident that he would play well," he concluded.

It is worth noting that Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign was disappointing, with just two wins out of four matches. They lost two close encounters against co-hosts USA and arch-rivals India, leading to their early exit from the tournament.