Following PAK’s defeat in the Asia Cup final, Akhtar slams “nightmare” Babar and Rizwan

Posted at: September 12, 2022

Asia Cup: Pakistan’s performance against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 final on Sunday in Dubai was dismal. The team captained by Babar Azam finished second behind the hosts in every category, and Shoaib Akhtar, a former player, was very critical of them. The renowned pacer attacked Mohammad Rizwan’s strategy in the championship match and referred to it as a “horror tournament” for Babar as a batter.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “That ends a nightmare tournament for Babar as a batter. Same disaster for Fakhar.”

That ends a nightmare tournament for Babar as a batter. Same disaster for Fakhar.

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 11, 2022

“This combination is not working. Pakistan has to look into a lot of things. Fakhar, Iftikhar, and Khushdil all need to be looked into. And Rizwan, 50 off 50 is not going to work anymore. Doesn’t benefit Pakistan. Hats off to Sri Lanka. What a team”, he also added.

This combination is not working. Pakistan has to look into a lot of things. Fakhar, Iftikhar, Khushdil all need to be looked into. And Rizwan, 50 off 50 is not going to work anymore. Doesn't benefit Pakistan.
Hats off to Sri Lanka. What a team

Full video: https://t.co/rYk3d01K65

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 11, 2022

Babar’s batting performance for Pakistan in the continental championship has been dismal; in the final’s run chase, he could only muster five runs off six balls. Rizwan was alone in charge of Pakistan’s batting throughout the competition, and he performed poorly on Sunday. Pakistan failed to surpass a goal of 171 runs despite the wicketkeeper-55 batter’s runs off 49 balls.

Pramod Madushan’s four-wicket haul enabled Sri Lanka to dismiss Pakistan for 147 in 20 overs. In the meantime, Chamika Karunaratne recorded two dismissals and Wanindu Hasaranga claimed three wickets. Bhanuka Rajapaksa first scored an unbroken 71 runs off 45 balls to aid Sri Lanka in reaching 170 for 6 in 20 overs. Hasaranga further made a contribution with the bat, scoring 36 runs off 21 balls.

After Pakistan’s defeat, Babar said, “Congratulations to Sri Lanka for playing outstanding cricket. We dominated them for the first eight overs, but the partnership that Rajapaksa got was amazing. This was a true wicket and it is always nice playing in Dubai. We didn’t bat according to our potential. We started well, but we gave away 15-20 extra runs and couldn’t finish well.”

“A lot of positives for us to take. In final, the margin for mistakes is lesser. Our fielding wasn’t up to the mark and the batting couldn’t finish it off well. But Rizwan, Naseem and Nawaz were positives. Ups and downs will be there, but it would be nicer if we made lesser mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Rizwan felt Sri Lanka took advantage of Pakistan’s mistakes. “They played like true champions, they deserve the win. They put us under pressure at key moments and won the match despite losing the toss. We committed mistakes and Sri Lanka took advantage of that. They took the momentum away from us towards the end in both the innings”, he said.

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Priyanka Suriyal

I am a sports reporter and broadcaster, because of my skills as a writer. My writing has been praised by many and has helped me to establish a career in this field.