Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz joins Derbyshire for T20 blast
Wahab Riaz is not a member of the Pakistan side that will face Ireland and England in their next Test assignments and will be hoping to impress the selectors with his performances for Derbyshire county cricket club.
Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz has signed up with English County side Derbyshire in his bid to make a comeback to the national team.
According ESPNCricinfo, Riaz will be playing the Vitality T20 Blast for Derbyshire, hoping to bolster his chances for a recall to the Pakistan cricket team.
The 32-year-old left-arm bowler who last played for Pakistan in October 2017, has been criticised by their head coach Mickey Arthur over fitness as well as form-related issues.
Apart from being excluded from the Pakistan training camp for the upcoming two-Test series in England and one-off Test in Ireland, Arthur had remarked that Riaz had ‘not won us a game in two years’.
Underlining the importance of high performance culture in the Pakistan cricket team, Arthur has said, “I expect players that have been around for a long time to be winning us games and setting standards. The guys need to push themselves and get out of their comfort zones.”
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“I cannot fault Wahab when he has a ball in his hand but his work ethic around training is something [that] needs to be looked at. I am changing the culture in this Pakistan environment and I am not interested in players doing just the bare minimum.”
Despite the criticism, Derbyshire are confident about their signing. Riaz has had a surgery for a sinus problem, and is expected to be available for a huge part of Derbyshire’s fixtures before leaving for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Riaz had finished as the joint highest wicket-taker alongside Faheem Ashraf in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), with 18 wickets for Peshawar Zalmi.