Cricket fans can be cruel at times. Barmy Army is known for their creative ways of sledging opponent team's players and even crossing the line at times. However, chanting against one's own player is something that is not seen every day. On October 2, Khushdil Shah was on the receiving end of fans’ criticism in form of chants as he walked back to the dugout after losing his wicket. As the video went viral, his teammate Imam-ul-Haq urged fans to avoid such rants as it can affect the player’s mental health.
In the final T20I of the seven T20I series, Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by England. The hosts never looked like they will chase down the massive target of 210. Khushdil’s innings lacked intent as well. He came in to bat after Pakistan lost three wickets in the powerplay overs. He managed to score just 27 runs from 25 deliveries before he got dismissed by Adil Rashid in the 13th over.
As a dejected Khushdil dragged himself off the ground, fans chanted ‘Parchi-Parchi’ which is used as slang in Pakistan for someone who is not in the team on merit.
Khushdil shared a 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Shan Masood but the required run rate kept climbing. As a result of weak performance from middle-order batters, Pakistan managed to post 142/8 on the board and lost the game by 67 runs.
The 27-year-old has been criticised by many over his strike rate. In the seven T20I series, he scored 63 runs from four innings at an average of 21. In Asia Cup 2022, he had single-digit scores against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. His highest score in Asia Cup came against Hong Kong. He scored 35 not out against the minnows.
So far, the left-handed batter has scored 309 runs from 22 innings at an average of 20.60 and a disappointing strike rate of 110.75. He is yet to score a single half-century. The southpaw has faced heavy criticism of late and there have been calls to include someone like veteran Shoaib Malik in the squad to strengthen the middle-order.
