Wahab Riaz Backs Asia Cup Overhaul, Snaps At Sana Mir: 'I Have Nothing To Do With Her Opinion'

Former Pakistan pacer and women's team head coach Wahab Riaz has said that the selection committee made changes to the T20I squad with the future in mind and although former cricketer Sana Mir has her concerns and her own opinion, he has 'nothing to do' with it. Sana had criticised the management for making wholesale changes to the team for the Women's Asia Cup, leaving out seven players. The likes of Iram Javed, Aliya Riaz and Natalia Pervaiz were dropped from the team. Riaz said that the players who were left out had been out of form for a long time and were dropped as a result. 'Sana Mir has her own opinion. I have nothing to do with that opinion. We have made changes with the future in mind. The players who were playing before have played a lot of World Cups and Asia Cups, but we were not getting the results," Riaz said while speaking at the post-match press conference. Pakistan were thrashed by arch-rivals India by seven wickets on Saturday, September 5, in a group-stage game of the Asia Cup. 'So it was time to go with new faces and bring new girls into the mix to build the team for the upcoming tournaments. It isn't about who we left behind. We have to look at the reality," Riaz said. 'The girls who were left out were not performing at all. I think we did the right move by bringing new girls into the mix," Riaz added. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana showed some fight against India, claiming the wickets of Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana. But India cruised to a seven-wicket win with 68 balls to spare. Pakistan's hopes of reaching the semifinals now hang in the balance, with a victory over Hong Kong in their final group-stage match imperative. 'I believe that all the players in our team are very skilful and they just need to trust themselves. Our next match is against Hong Kong. We will go back and discuss what we did wrong against India," Riaz said. Wahab Riaz stated that changes were made to the T20I squad with the future in mind, as previous players had been out of form for a long time and the team was not getting desired results in past World Cups and Asia Cups. He aimed to bring in new faces to build the team for upcoming tournaments. Sana Mir criticized the management for making wholesale changes to the team for the Women's Asia Cup, specifically for dropping seven players, including Iram Javed, Aliya Riaz, and Natalia Pervaiz. Pakistan was defeated by arch-rivals India by seven wickets in a group-stage game of the Asia Cup on Saturday, September 5. India secured the win with 68 balls to spare.