How do they both not look Pakistani?
We're obsessed with personalties, looks and fake bravado even if the player has limited capability.
Someone like Imad Wasim may have a limited skill set, although he provides great utility, but his persona garners him far more fanfare than merited.
Sarfaraz was one of the best cricketing minds in the country and for a time one of the best keeper batsmen we've had but he was never appreciated for the way he spoke or for his lack of aesthetics, though his lax attitude towards his diet was his own fault.
Similarly, Ifti has been hammering in the runs in domestic cricket for years at a far better average than someone like Asif Ali but we played the latter in every game for over a year when he was clearly out of his depth at international level, not that his below average domestic numbers were deserving of a call up to the national side in the first place.
Ifti on the other hand managed to make 62* and 45 against Australia in Australia where every other batsmen apart from Babar failed against the likes of Starc and Cummins. He showcased his ability to play true bounce with Rohit-esque six hitting ability when the rest of the team were collapsing around him. We surely need that in the T20 WC in Aus.
Most people just don't want him in the team because he's facially not aesthetically pleasing to them and looks older than his official age would suggest but if he's pulling short balls for 4's and 6's in Australia of all places then clearly age hasn't affected his reflexes yet and until we find a player who can play a similar role down-under we must persist with him.
Every time he gets a chance he's dropped a game later for someone like Malik. The only players worth trying in this role are Ifti, Khushdil or going back to Sohaib Maqsood because they actually have the numbers in domestic cricket to back it up. We need to stop selecting players like Asif Ali just because he looks like a Punjabi pehlwan
