'Our spinners forgot to bowl as we forced them to bat'
- By Web Desk -
- Oct 14, 2023
Pakistan lost to India in a lopsided ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 contest at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The team’s strategy and approach towards the game came under severe criticism from cricketing experts and fans.
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Former cricketers Basit Ali, Azhar Ali and Kamran Akmal along with sports journalists Shoaib Jatt and Najeeb-ul-Hasnain spoke about the team’s performance in the fixture.
Shoaib Jatt in the show believed that the selectors forced specialist spinners to bat in the game and this resulted in them forgetting how to bowl.
Kamran Akmal, citing former India cricketer Irfan Pathan’s example, said Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United named Shadab Khan as its captain and its coach Misbah-ul-Haq promoted the spinner up the batting order at number four.
He said Shadab Khan transformed into an all-rounder who liked to bat.
Basit Ali questioned why the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed former South Africa cricketer Andrew Puttick as the team’s batting coach when he has played just one international fixture in his career.
Pakistan, sent to bat first in batting-friendly conditions, were on course to score around 300-plus total when they were batting at 155-2 in 30 overs. The tide changed when skipper Babar Azam was dismissed for 50 by India pacer Mohammed Siraj.
It sparked a collapse and the side were dismissed for just 191.
India captain Rohit Sharma led the chase with a blistering 86, and the two-time champions eventually romped home in 30.3 overs with seven wickets in hand to maintain their unbeaten record against Pakistan in the history of the tournament.