Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Khan shared his views on India spinner Kuldeep Yadav following his match-winning performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture against Pakistan at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
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Kuldeep Yadav played a crucial role in his team’s comprehensive seven-wicket win over the arch-rivals on Saturday. He took key wickets of batters Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed in the 33rd over.
He was the only India bowler to complete his quota of 10 overs in the match.
Rashid Latif, considered to be one of Pakistan’s greatest wicketkeepers, shared his views on the Green Shirts finding it difficult to play him in a column for an Indian news agency.
The former cricketer says he could be in the running for becoming the tournament’s highest wicket-taker.
“Against Kuldeep [Yadav], we looked timid, we were trying to just play out his ten overs,” Rashid Latif stated. “Not a single Pakistan batsman was able to pick Kuldeep [Yadav], and I think if he is not rested in a few matches, Kuldeep will end up being the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.”
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Moreover, he was surprised on the exclusion of veteran spinner Ravi Ashwin from ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 matches.
“I was surprised that India didn’t pick [Ravi] Ashwin. I feel he should play all the matches for India. If [Ravi] Ashwin had played I don’t think we could have even got 190 on the board,” he stated.
Related – ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: ‘Pakistan lost the match in first 30 overs’
Speaking about Pakistan’s approach in ODI cricket, he said Babar Azam’s side plays with the “old template” of saving wickets till the 40th over and scoring runs in the death stages of the innings.
“Pakistan’s current ODI template is old. They want to follow the old ODI template of saving wickets till 40 overs and then target the last ten. The game has changed; we are still stuck in the past. This team is not playing modern-day cricket. We don’t have specialists; there is no X factor in the playing XI,” Rashid Latif stated.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan is fourth in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 table with two wins and one loss from three games.
They started their campaign with an 81-run win over the Netherlands and a six-wicket victory over 1996 champions Sri Lanka.
Their only defeat came at the hands of hosts India. They take on five-time winners Australia on Friday at Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
