Announcing retirement and coming back out of it after few months or years has become a common thing in international cricket now. Shahid Afridi did it several times, Ben Stokes did it to play for England at the ODI World Cup last year while Wanindu Hasaranga recently came out of Test retirement only to be banned for two matches. Imad Wasim could be the latest addition to the list as he is ready to come back if Pakistan needs him ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Imad performed superbly in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) winning the trophy for Islamabad United under Shadab Khan's captaincy. He scored 126 runs in nine innings batting down the order at a strike-rate 128.57 and also picked 12 wickets in as many matches with the economy rate of only 6.6. Moreover, he returned with magical figures of 5/23 in the final against Multan Sultans before scoring a valuable unbeaten 19 to guide his team home in the last-ball thriller.
Speaking about wanting to make a comeback, Imad will only do it if his country needs him. "I made a name for myself while playing for Pakistan and if my country needs me, I will be available. If not, I have no issues with that," he said. "Shaheen called me after I retired but I told him that we will talk after PSL," he told the media.
Pakistan selectors are set to announce a pool of players soon for training camp at army base in Kakul from March 25 and then will pick the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home from the same batch. If Imad Wasim is named in that list, one can say that he is surely coming back out of retirement. The T20I series between New Zealand and Pakistan is set to be played from April 18 and April 27. It will be clashing with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will see the major Kiwi players giving the tour a miss.
