Asia Cup 2023: Shahid Afridi criticizes Pakistan’s management after elimination

Asia Cup 2023 has not been an easy road for Pakistan. After some initial victories, the Babar Azam-led team faced a massive defeat against Rohit Sharma-led India and eventually the Sri Lankan batsmen ended all Pakistan’s hopes in a do-or-die match. As the team returns to deliberations ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has some tough words to share.

Shahid Afridi criticized the team management for not experimenting with the team and repeatedly keeping Shadab Khan out of form in the playing eleven. He even gave the example of India, which tried changes almost before every match.

“This is an old problem. India is playing in the Asian Cup, I have seen changes in almost all of his team’s games. They have given the seniors a rest and the youth players have played, which shows that they are preparing for the World Cup. These decisions are very important, you choose a squad of 15 players because the players on our bench are as good as those on the eleven. There should be no problem in resting the starting players,” NDTV quoted Shahid Afridi on Samaa TV as saying.

“If Shadab is rested, Osama Mir is there. He has performed well for Pakistan in the past. If someone is not performing in some matches, you have to rest him. I am not saying that leaves him out of the 15-member group.” team, you can keep him on the team and still give him a rest. Let him have sessions with the head coach and the bowling coach. “I don’t know what our plans are, really,” he added.

Major concerns

Pakistan He is always known for his dangerous bowling and the absence of two key players – Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf changed the game for the team. Haris Rauf did not play the match against India on the second day and Naseem Shah did not come out to bat in that match. Both the pacers missed the must-win match against Sri Lanka. So, ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan have major concerns to resolve around their bowling.

Shadab Khan has been out of form for a while now and another good player Mohammad Nawaz is also not playing that well for the team. Consecutive defeats and elimination might have dampened the team’s hopes but Pakistan are too dangerous to take lightly.