Ever since the Pakistan cricket team lost to Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup, they have received criticism for their topsy-turvy run. Many experts and veteran cricketers questioned the team’s chances of making it past the group stages at the tournament in Australia. Muhammad Wasim, the Pakistan chief selector, has responded to all the criticism by mentioning the Indian cricket team to shut down critics.
Last month, Pakistan lost to India in the Asia Cup opener. However, they rallied to defeat them in the Super 4 stage, paving the way to the final while denying India a chance to reclaim the trophy.
In the Asia Cup 2022, India’s winning streak ended after Pakistan chased 182. The Men in Blue lost their first Super 4 tie to their archrivals by five wickets on September 4.
In their match against the Pakistani seamers, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul finally got off to a good start after a few matches. Haris Rauf sent Rohit Sharma back to the hut as India reached 54/0 after five overs. Soon after the powerplay, India’s skipper and his partner KL Rahul were dismissed by Shadab Khan. This forced India into rebuilding mode.
In the Pakistani bowling attack, Shadab Khan scalped two wickets and ended with the figures of 4-25-2, while Mohammad Nawaz was more economical, scalping one wicket and finishing with the figures of 4-25-1. In comparison, the Indian spinners did not perform well. Bishnoi was economical, finishing with figures of 4-26-1, but Chahal ended up with 4-43-1.
When Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad was announced, Wasim reminded critics that the team not only beaten India at the 2021 T20 World Cup, making it their first victory against India at a World Cup match but also replicated it at the same venue ten months later in the Asia Cup, in a match that had the greatest significance.
Wasim called the Indian cricket team a “billion-dollar team”. However, he further reminded the press of how the Pakistan team has proven its capability of winning over the past two years at the Asia cup. He concluded his statement by saying that he has complete faith that the Pakistan cricket team will continue to make their fans happy by winning in the upcoming matches.
Pakistan at the T-20Is
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held in Australia in 2022, and Pakistan has announced its 15-member squad for that tournament. In addition to Shaheen Afridi returning from his knee injury, Shan Masood will play for the first time since December 2021, and Haider Ali will make his T20I debut. Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar was furious at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief selector Mohammad Wasim and the current head coach Saqlain Mushtaq for the selection of the squad.
As the upcoming season opens, Pakistan will play T20Is against England and a tri-series against New Zealand. Almost all national team members and the support staff arrived in Karachi late Friday evening for the domestic series.
It has been announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Rizwan and assistant head coach Shahid Aslam joined the squad on September 17. Before the training session starts, Shan Masood, who has been selected for the first time in a T20I, will address the media at the stadium.
A three-hour preparatory session was held on Friday for the England team, playing in Pakistan for the first time in 17 years. Today, the guests will continue practising. A warm-up match against England will be played on October 17 before Pakistan begins its run at the Twenty20 World Cup on October 16.
The T-20I controversy
Mohammad Haris has been selected for the side in the T20I. Former cricket star Saeed Ajmal is not pleased with this decision.
Haris has been selected even though he has never played any T20Is for the Pakistan team. He has only taken part in four ODIs and scored only ten runs, with his highest score being six.
In addition, Ajmal claimed that PCB chairman Ramiz Raja “likes” Haris, and that’s why he was selected for the T20 World Cup squad.
Muhammad Haris was selected because he was Ramiz Raja’s favourite candidate, Ajmal alleged. Ajmal said on his official YouTube channel that Ramiz Raja likes him, which is why they kept him.
Furthermore, Ajmal suggested that the PCB should have considered Sharjeel Khan for a place in the squad; the last time he played for Pakistan was in August 2021. Earlier this month, Sharjeel scored a century against Balochistan in the National T20 Cup.
In addition to the T20 World Cup opener against India on October 23, Pakistan will also play seven T20Is against England in their home country and a tri-series with Bangladesh in New Zealand.