'Usama Mir should have bowled instead of Mohammad Nawaz'

Pakistan suffered an agonizing one-wicket loss against South Africa in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium and Green Shirts captain Babar Azam has come under criticism for introducing Mohammad Nawaz into the bowling attack instead of Usama Mir.

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South Africa required five runs to win from 18 balls with a wicket in hand. Specialist spinner Usama Mir had two overs left but Babar Azam opted for all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz instead when the match was hanging in the balance.

Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took a single and gave the strike to Keshav Maharaj. The latter the side to their fifth win in the tournament with a boundary on the leg side.

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Former cricketers and social media lambasted the Pakistan captain for his bowling selection. Kamran Akmal, speaking on the ARY News show ‘Har Lamhaa Purjosh’, said Babar Azam should have introduced Usama Mir into the attack.

Moreover, he lamented about the lack of planning on the management’s behalf and players playing with a non-serious attitude.

Kamran Akmal hit out at running the affair when he is just the team’s director. The former cricketer went on to say that the management should have guided the players on-field and the side lost from the brink of victory because of their own mistakes.

Basit Ali, on the other hand, said introducing Mohammad Nawaz was a costly mistake. The former batter hit out at the pacers for not bowling short deliveries and bouncers.

He went on to say that Babar Azam is a quality batter but not a good captain. He lambasted the Pakistan Cricket Board for hiring foreign coaches.