Rizwan doesn't have the ability to finish games, Babar can't score runs: Furious Shoaib Akhtar reacts to Pakistan's batting collapse in Asia Cup 2022 final
Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar was disappointed with Pakistan's batting effort in the Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Sunday, September 11. Chasing 171 runs to win, the Men in Green were skittled out for just 147 and lost their last eight wickets for 54 runs.
Akhtar slammed Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan for his conservative approach in the chase. Despite being the highest scorer for his team, Rizwan took 49 deliveries to score his 55 runs and was dismissed while trying to up the ante.
The former pacer was also critical of skipper Babar Azam, who was dismissed for only five runs to bring his disappointing Asia Cup campaign to an end.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Akhtar had to say about the disappointing batting performance, especially from Rizwan and Azam
"I doubt whether we are playing the right team. Mohammad Rizwan doesn't have the ability to finish games and he needed support which he didn't get. You can't play an innings of a run-a-ball 45 in such a situation. Pakistan played bad cricket and I think they should have batted first."
"Class, class, class chodo bhai!" - Shoaib Akhtar on Babar Azam
Azam's horrible Asia Cup ended with a six-ball knock against Sri Lanka. He managed only 68 runs in the entire tournament and simply struggled to get going. Even in the final, the Pakistan skipper was caught at fine leg off a delivery that should have been dispatched for a boundary.
Akhtar shed light on how Azam is playing shots that don't come naturally to him. The former speedster also has his doubts over other batters like Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed in crunch situations. While Zaman was dismissed for a golden duck against Sri Lanka, Ahmed got out after scoring a 31-ball 32.
Asif Ali’s 0 off 1 was better for Pakistan than Rizwan’s 55 off 49 and Iftikhar’s 32 off 31.
On this, Shoaib Akhtar stated:
"Pakistan bowlers leaked too many runs. Babar just can't score runs at the moment. Class, class, class chodo bhai! Your class is seen only when you're in form. You're trying to hit every ball so hard. Fakhar plays like he is lost somewhere. Iftikhar continues to play run-a-ball."
For the second time in a row, Pakistan missed the chance to win a multinational tournament in the UAE when they looked like favorites. They will be hoping to regroup and come back stronger ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.