"Then I should never have been out of the team" - Usman Qadir claims his friendship with Babar Azam didn't give him Pakistan cap

Leg-spinner Usman Qadir has said that he came into the Pakistan team on his skills and performances and not because he's good friends with captain Babar Azam.

Usman and Babar's friendship goes way back when the duo played together in the U15 trials. However, the leg-spinner accepted that the way the two get scrutiny because of their friendship has been an added pressure to perform.

Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, here's what Usman Qadir had to say about his friendship with Babar Azam:

"My relation with Babar is not from today - it's been since when we both gave trials for under-15. If the critique is around Babar's and my friendship, then I should never have been out of the team in the first place.

"In fact, Babar's friendship has caused me more harm than benefit because that has always added extra pressure on both of us equally."

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Misbah-ul-Haq brought me into the team, not Babar Azam: Usman Qadir

Usman Qadir explained how he came into the Pakistan setup when Misbah-ul-Haq was at the helm. Although Babar was the captain at that time, Usman said that even the Pakistan captain agreed that he had no role to play in his selection.

The leg-spinner added:

"I only came into the team when Babar became the captain; however, that doesn't mean he took me into the team. The person who brought me into the team was Misbah-ul-Haq.

"I mentioned earlier, too, that Babar didn't get me into the team, and why would he? This isn't his team - it's Pakistan's team. Even Babar has acknowledged this himself."

Pakistan's Asia Cup squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi