Pakistan’s former captain and Swing ka Sultan Wasim Akram criticized Pakistan team management for dropping Shadab Khan for the match against Australia by saying that its not suitable for the team to drop their main bowler who get wickets in middle overs.
Talking to Geo in Taunton after Australia’s win over Pakistan, a visibly disappointed Akram said that Pakistani players looked lethargic in the field and there was no energy while fielding against Australians.
“First of all, I totally disagree with the team selection today. How can you drop Shadab,” Wasim questioned.
And he answered his own question saying that it seems Pakistan team was under pressure of green-top wicket.
But added that whatever the wicket was, dropping Shadab Khan was not a wise decision and termed it as bad as Australia dropping Shane Warne at his peak.
“It is like Australians, the mighty Australians dropping Shane Warne. Shadab is your main bowler, he can get you wickets in middle overs. It wasn’t a good decision to drop him,” Wasim said.
He also questioned abilities of Hassan Ali who has just six wickets in 10 ODIs this year with an average of over 90.
“It’s a concern that Hassan Ali is not taking wickets. He was our main bowler in Champions Trophy and was leading wicket taker but now he seems not in good form. He must improve his game you can’t bowl in ODIs the way you bowl in T20Is,” Wasim said.
Wasim also bashed Pakistani fieldsmen for being lethargic during the fielding saying that there was no excitement.
“How much you expect from the captain who is behind the wicket talking everytime to keep the team motivated, you need to be active and quick on the field as well,” he said.
The former captain added that Pakistan could’ve reached the target but lack of partnership restricted the team.
“The way Wahab and Hassan batted towards the end was a message that if you had stayed on wicket, you could’ve achieved the target. There was a hope when Wahab was playing but I knew that its matter of just one wicket and that’s what happened once Wahab was out,” he highlighted.
He added that Pakistan will be under huge pressure in game against India on Sunday at Manchester but suggested that Pakistan should forget about what happened and play with energy.
“It’s still not too late. Learn from mistake, forget past and look forward,” Wasim said when asked what is his message for team Pakistan.
“India is a good side and they had outclassed Australia earlier, Pakistan will be under pressure and to beat a side like India, you need to be at your best,” the former captain concluded.
This article is originally published on GEO NEWS
