KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Executive Committee chairman Najam Sethi expressed his surprise at vice-captain Sarfraz Ahmed being omitted from the playing XI for both Twenty20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.

“It was heartening and encouraging to see Pakistan win a thriller against Sri Lanka [in Saturday’s second T20],” Sethi commented on a private television channel on Sunday night.

“The general public has also questioned Sarfraz’s omission and we also want to know the reasons,” the former PCB chief added.“We would be asking this from the team officials once they are back.”

He said it was the domain of the tour selection committee including chief coach, captain and manager to select the final XI for each match.

“We will also ask the reasons for dropping Sarfraz from chief coach Waqar Younis and captain Shahid Afridi,” Sethi informed.

He added that after he became the chairman, he introduced a practice of giving a free-hand to the selection committee to work independently without any interference.

“After winning the Test and ODI series, it was good to end the tour on a high by clinching the T20 rubber,” Sethi said. “Pakistan showed team spirit and people want to see those fighting qualities in the team.”

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2015

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