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Legendary Pakistan speedster lashed out at Salman Ali Agha for his 'questionable' captaincy during the Asia Cup final against India. Akhtar opined that there was no need to hand the ball to Haris Rauf for the 16th over as the Indian batters were struggling against the spinners. Notably, Rauf ended up going for 17 in the over and this saw the momentum shift towards India.
"Captaincy is questionable. Bowling changes – when the batters are struggling facing spinners, there was no need to bring in Haris Rauf, he leaked 17 runs in an over which was not the need. There are many reasons we lost, but again, it’s okay. It’s fine," Akhtar said on Tapmad.
Salman wasn't the only one who faced Akhtar's wrath as the latter also slammed Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson following the final. He blamed the team management for not thinking right and called out Hesson for his 'senseless coaching'. He further questioned why both Hasan Nawaz and Salman Mirza were made to sit out in the final.
"It is the blame of the management who is not thinking right. Talking about senseless coaching, I would probably say. I probably – I am going to, sorry to say these kinds of harsh words, but it's senseless coaching," Akhtar stated.
"Again, the match-winner Hasan Nawaz, and then we have Salman Mirza not playing. Again, it became a little difficult. We are very disappointed, very hurt. It was Super Sunday and the whole nation was watching, but our middle order is already a problem," he added.
India's brilliant display with the ball
Meanwhile, India recorded a ninth Asia Cup triumph after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Sunday. The bowlers did a fantastic job for the Men in Blue and bundled out the opposition for 146 runs to set up a gettable target at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Kuldeep Yadav was the star performer, recording figures of 4/30 in his four-over spell.
Tilak took India through in the final
Though India had a poor start to their chase and got restricted to 20/3 at one stage, Tilak Varma became their saviour and played a crucial knock of 69 runs to take the side through. Another player who gave valiant contributions with the bat for Suryakumar Yadav & Co. was Shivam Dube. The left-hand batter played a key inning of 33 and formed an important partnership of 60 runs alongside Tilak. India eventually went to chase down the 147-run target with just two deliveries left to spare..
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