Pakistan lost the decider T20I match against England on Sunday (October 02) while chasing a towering target of 210 and fell short by 67 runs. Within the first two overs, Pakistan’s two most reliable batters (Babar Azam 4, Mohammed Rizwan 1) on whose coattails Pakistan enjoyed a majority of their success, were dismissed cheaply. After that Pakistan’s kryptonite, which is their middle order, was exposed again as they capitulated under pressure. The Pakistani middle order has been their major cause of concern and has not risen to occasions when it has needed to and it was evident in the 7th T20I.
Aside from Shan Masood (56 runs off 43 balls), the other batters didn’t last long as they crumbled like a pack of cards, leaving their team high and dry. This prompted a reaction from Pakistan’s former express bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who criticised Pakistan’s middle order and made a bold statement.
'Rawalpindi Express' on his YouTube channel reiterated the need to consolidate the middle order or else it could have devastating impact on team's performance moving forward, so much so that they can even crash out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in the group stage.
"As I have said before, I fear that this Pakistan team can go out of the world cup in the first round itself," Akhtar said.
"Pakistan middle order is not good. Plus Pakistan’s openers if they don’t perform, middle order gets into pressure. This is not the way to go into a world cup if you want to win the world cup. It is very sad," he added.
Akhtar in the past criticised Pakistan’s coach Saqlain Mushtaq stating he has no idea about T20 and ripped into chief selector Mohammad Wasim calling him 'average'.
"That’s why I had criticised Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan’s coach) and others to get your middle order and batting order in order. Somehow, they are not listening. It’s very sad to see that Pakistan is not doing well. It’s disheartening," Akhtar continued.
The legendary bowler wants others to pull their weight including the bowlers and made clear that the team can’t over-rely on Babar and Rizwan ahead of the T20I World Cup.
The Men in Green will start their World Cup campaign against arch-rivals India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.
