The Pakistan cricket team will play the must-win encounter against in-form South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, October 27.
New Delhi: Former Pakistan player Danish Kaneria made a strong statement on Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s captaincy after his team’s poor show and three defeats in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Danish Kaneria said that the Pakistan skipper didn’t know anything else, and Kaneria also launched the attack and commented that he will only do what is written on paper and given to him.
After Pakistan crashed to its second straight loss in the ongoing World Cup, an 8-wicket thrashing at the hands of bitter neighbours Afghanistan, skipper Babar Azam lamented the underwhelming effort in the field saying that his bowling attack was not up to the mark.
After the mauling against India, Pakistan’s bowlers had another forgettable outing, failing to put any pressure on the Afghan batters despite defending an above-par total of 283 on a sluggish and challenging Chennai surface.
Afghanistan produced their upset win in their ongoing World Cup campaign, outplaying Pakistan in all three departments. It was their first-ever win over their bitter neighbours in 50-over cricket, and, that too, in cricket’s most prized event.
“This defeat hurts. We thought we had posted a good total on the board, one that our bowlers could defend. However, our bowlers were simply not up to the mark as we neither managed to pick wickets in the middle overs (of the Afghanistan innings) nor put a check on the scoring rate. If you fail to deliver the goods in even one department, you end up on the losing side. It’s as simple as that. We couldn’t stop the boundaries and gave away easy runs, which cost us in the end. As far as our bowling is concerned, I thought we started well but couldn’t effect breakthroughs in the middle overs,” Babar said at the post-match press conference.
In a recent interview with Aaj Tak, Danish Kaneria suggested that Babar Azam should have used Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi because Afghanistan’s openers play pace well.
“Babar Azam will only do what is written on paper and given to him. He doesn’t know anything else. He can’t bat under pressure, which is why he elected to bat first against Afghanistan. He should have given the new ball to Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi because Afghanistan’s openers play pace well,” Danish Kaneria said.
Adding more on Babar Azam’s poor captaincy stint at the ODI World Cup 2023, Kaneria pointed out that Babar continued bowling spin from the end despite the pacers getting some help from the pitch during the Afghanistan clash. “Haris Rauf is a tape ball cricketer who just bowls fast, and you don’t know what to expect from Hasan Ali. When there was some reserve swing, Babar Azam bowled Iftikhar Ahmed from one end. They are looking like a pathetic side right now.”
The Pakistan cricket team will play the must-win encounter against in-form South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, October 27.