Young Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani hasn't donned the national colours since October 2022 and the reason reportedly for that is he posted a message on X wishing Happy Holi to Hindus around the world. Controversial and popular cricket analysts Wasay Habib and Qamar Iffy appeared in a recent podcast of Junaid Akram to make this shocking revelation.
26-year-old Dahani made his international debut against Bangladesh in November 2021 in a T20I and has played 11 matches in the format, bagging 8 scalps at 40 apiece. He has also featured in a couple of ODIs with a solitary scalp. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has encouraging numbers in domestic cricket, taking 69 scalps in 55 T20s and 75 wickets in 38 List A fixtures.
With the talented speedster struggling to break into the national team since a year and a half, the famous YouTubers who shot to fame for their belligerent rants claimed that he found himself out of the team due to his holi tweet and other biased approach of the selectors.
They claimed some senior members in the Pakistani squad asked Dahani to delete the tweet on Holi. However, they didn't specify which year's tweet was it that got Dahani into trouble.
"Woh har final jitwaata hai, domestic mein accha perform karta hai. Galti se usne yeh tweet kar di ki main holi ki mubaarak baad deta hoon apne tamaam doston ko, team mein aapke kuch khilaadi bura maan gaye. Usko kaha gaya ki tweet delete kare. Yeh kaunsa drama hai yaar," the two youtubers said.
(He wins matches in domestic cricket and performs well. Some teammates were upset that he wished holi to some of his friends on X and asked him to delete the tweet. What kind of drama is this?).
The duo said Dahani was well deserved to be a part of the Pakistani squad that toured India for the ODI World Cup in 2023, however, he was ignored and Harif Rauf made the cut because he plays for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Shahnawaz Dahani who represents Multan Sultans in the PSL, revealed in 2022 that it was a dream come true for him to meet Indian legend Dhoni on the sidelines of the T20 World Cup 2021. Dhoni was then the official Team Mentor of the Indian cricket team at the T20 World Cup.
“It'll take a lot of time for me to explain the level of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Meeting him was a dream come true and I can’t forget that moment. His words were quite beneficial as he told me about life, how to live life, respecting elderly people. He told that there will be bad and good days in cricket but you have to embrace it and stay dedicated to the game you love the most,” Dahani had said.
Pakistan under pressure after a ten-wicket defeat to Bangladesh:
Meanwhile, the men's team are under tremendous pressure after suffering a ten-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests in Rawalpindi. It was only the 2nd instance for Pakistan that they lost a Test after declaring. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and elected to field first. With Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan slamming centuries, the hosts declared at 448-6.
However, Mushfiqur Rahim's 191 and his partnership of 196 with Mehidy Hasan Miraz enabled Bangladesh to take a 117-run lead. The tourists' spinners also stepped up in the 2nd innings to skittle Pakistan out for only 146, setting themselves only 30 to win.
Zakir Hasan hit the winning runs as Bangladesh secured their first-ever Test victory over Pakistan. The 2nd Test begins at the same venue on August 30.
