Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram expressed disappointment and raised concerns over Islamabad United’s captain Shadab Khan for his on-field decisions during yesterday’s match against Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9.
Shadab Khan, who led Islamabad to victory in the previous match with a quick fifty at number three, opted to bat at number seven against Multan Sultans, scoring only 11 runs off nine balls.
In a discussion on a local sports channel, Wasim Akram questioned Shadab’s decision, particularly given his stellar form in the previous match.
“When you have a captain who scored 74 runs in 41 balls in the previous match, why didn’t he come in to bat at three or four?” Akram queried.
"Don't they assess the pitch condition?" #WasimAkram questions #IslamabadUnited's batting strategy.#ASportsHD #ThePavilion #HBLPSL9 #WasimAkram #MohammadHafeez #MisbahUlHaq #AzharAli #FakhareAlam #MSvIU pic.twitter.com/4WacknvnW4
— ASports (@asportstvpk) February 20, 2024
He also expressed hope that Shadab’s reasoning about the pitch difficulty was a miscommunication, suggesting it would be concerning if Shadab only chose to bat early on easier pitches.
“He [Shadab] said in the post-match press conference that the wicket was a bit difficult which is why I wanted to send in a proper batter,” Akram added.
“I hope that was a language barrier because if that’s case it means that he will come out to bat early when the pitch is easy but send anyone else if that’s not the case.”
Multan Sultans secured their second consecutive win in PSL 9 by defeating Islamabad United by five wickets at Multan Cricket Stadium.
After restricting Islamabad to 144 runs in 20 overs, Multan chased the target in the final over, propelled by a determined half-century from Reeza Hendricks.
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