“What kind of cricket do they play?” – Former Pakistan cricketer warns middle-order ahead of T20 World Cup
Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria is completely disappointed after back-to-back failures from the middle-order batters of the national team. He feels that the Men in Green need to quickly address the problem if they want to do well in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month.
While captain Babar Azam smashed an unbeaten 87 off 59 balls, the middle-order once again failed to put on a show against England in the sixth T20I in Lahore on Friday (September 30).
The entire batting unit, sans Babar, managed to score only 77 runs off 61 balls. Iftikhar Ahmed looked good for his 21-ball 31 but failed to finish off the innings. Other batters Haider Ali, Asif Ali, and Shan Masood failed to live up to expectations.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Haris failed to deliver on his T20I debut after Mohammad Rizwan was rested.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Danish Kaneria said:
“If I talk about Pakistan, what to speak, it’s the same thing every time. What kind of cricket do they play? If they continue to perform like this, they will not be in the top 4 in the T20 World Cup.”
🗣️ Babar Azam reviews Pakistan's performance and learnings for his side at the end of the sixth T20I
#PAKvENG | #UKSePK https://t.co/hcl4JVYTq7
Batting first, Pakistan scored 169/6 in 20 overs. In reply, Philip Salt (88 off 41 balls) led England’s chase as the visitors won the match by eight wickets with 5.3 overs to spare.
“It's the worst batting line-up if you leave out Babar and Rizwan”- Kaneria on Pakistan's middle-order
Kaneria said that Pakistan cannot depend on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. He labeled the middle-order as completely pathetic and questioned their credibility. He feels that the batting unit would only embarrass the team in the T20 World Cup.
“It's the worst batting line-up if you leave out Babar and Rizwan. If you reduce Babar’s runs, they didn’t even score 100 runs. There is no credibility, no style of play, and it is entirely pathetic. Middle-order can’t read the ball and fail to deliver in Pakistan. Imagine what they will do in Australia.”
It is worth mentioning that Rizwan and Babar have scored 315 and 281 runs, respectively, in the ongoing T20I series against England.
3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ T20I runs for @babarazam258 ✅
He is the joint fastest to the milestone in 81 innings and only the fifth batter to cross the landmark figure 👏
#PAKvENG | #UKSePK https://t.co/ZY4TnYKJIp
Shan Masood is the third-highest run-getter for the hosts with 100 runs from five innings. Babar Azam and Co. will next play against England in the T20I decider on Sunday (October 2).