ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket Chief selector Haroon Rasheed has made it clear that current form and performance would remain the only criteria for selection in the team even if the player concerned is the skipper.

“If a player doesn’t perform, then automatically he won’t be considered for future assignments,” he said in response to a question regarding Shahid Afridi.

Haroon said that it was totally a player’s prerogative to retire from the game or not.

“We cannot force anyone to retire and give it in writing when he wants to retire. There is no such rule in any cricket-playing country,” he added.

Haroon also refuted speculations that Sarfraz Ahmed will replace Azhar Ali as captain of the ODI team.

Some reports said the PCB was likely to appoint Sarfraz as the ODI captain after seeing his performance in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) T20.

The reports also said that after the retirement of Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz will also lead the green-shirts in that format of the game. Haroon contradicted the report. “This report is totally baseless and does not have any weight in it.”

He further said that Ahmed Shahzad was not in form but will be selected in future if he regained form.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016