Pakistan’s loss to Zimbabwe in the ongoing T20 World Cup has opened the gates for endless criticism of Babar Azam and his boys. It was the second consecutive defeat for them in the tournament, after getting beaten by arch-rivals India in the campaign opener. Back-to-back losses have left Pakistan in a spot to bother as they need to win all their remaining games with a higher margin.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket fraternity is shocked after losing to Zimbabwe. The former cricketers of the country have been slamming the team and questioning Babar’s leadership. The likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Amir have already criticised the team selection and now, former pacer Wahab Riaz has joined the bandwagon.
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Speaking to 24 News HD, Wahab highlighted the lack of depth in the squad. Drawing a comparison between Pakistan and India, the former cricketer underlined how the latter have developed a vast pool of talented players.
“Agar aapka system strong hoga, toh ye baatein nahi hogi. Strong kaun karta hai? Jo hold karta hai. Ek selection ka process ye hai ki chaahe vo Amir ho, ya Umar Gul, ya Shoaib Akhar ya Sohail Tanvir hai, agar aapko criteria diya hai domestic cricket ka… agar usme wo perform karte hain, wo fit hai, toh unko khelna chahiye. (If your system is strong, we won’t be discussing these matters. There should be a selection process; for example, no matter if it’s Amir or Umar Gul or Shoaib Akhtar or Sohail Tanvir, if your criteria are to judge domestic performances, you have to see if they’ve performed there. If they have, and if they are fit, they should play),” Wahab said on 24 News HD.
The former Pakistan pacer further cited the example of Rishabh Pant to explain his point.
“I’ll give you an example from India. Rishabh Pant is India’s best wicketkeeper-batter since Dhoni, he has hundreds in England and Australia. If he was in Pakistan, would he sit outside in a World Cup match? No chance. India kept him out for Dinesh Karthik. They know Pant is a good cricketer, but they also know that they need a finisher. That’s the way to go,” Riaz explained.
Rishabh Pant is yet to play a game in the ongoing World Cup as India preferred Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI for the Pakistan tie and continued with the same XI against the Netherlands.
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