Azhar Mahmood reveals why Shadab wasn’t dropped despite T20 WC failures

Pakistan cricket team assistant head coach Azhar Mahmood revealed the reason behind sticking with Shadab Khan despite his struggles during the T20 World Cup 2024.

Speaking to media in Houston, the former all-rounder said that Khan was kept in Pakistan playing XI for all the matches due to the failure of the batting order.

According to Azhar Mahmood, Shadab Khan was a complete player and could not be dropped from the team during the T20 World Cup 2024.

Mahmood was accompanied by senior manager and member selection committee Wahab Riaz who mentioned that the all-rounder was selected in the team based on experience.

Riaz revealed that he had told Usama Mir that there was no place for him in the team for the T20 World Cup 2024.

It is pertinent to mention that Babar Azam’s men were eliminated from the marquee event in the group stages after they lost two out of their four games.

The Men in Green played their opening game against the United States of America (USA) and were stunned by the co-hosts in the super over.

The Babar Azam-led team then faced archrivals India on June 9 in New York and lost a close tie after they failed to chase a target of 120 runs in 20 overs.

While the bowling display of the Men in Green was appreciated in their games during the tournament, the batting order failed on many occasions, resulting in their elimination from the marquee event.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and senior players were slammed by cricket experts and former players for failing to advance to the next stage of the ongoing tournament.

Addressing a post-match press conference after the Canada game, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the team’s batting let them down at the Twenty20 World Cup and apologised to fans for failing to reach the Super 8 stage.

“The pitches here helped the fast bowlers a little but I think overall our batting did not click,” said the Pakistan skipper.

“We lost two crucial matches even when we were in charge,” he added.