IND vs PAK 2022: "Had Shaheen bowled there, you had the chance to win" - Mohammad Amir says Babar Azam missed the trick against India

Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir lashed out at Pakistan skipper Babar Azam over his tactics in a four-wicket loss to India in his team's first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne on Sunday, October 23.

Pakistan set India a competitive target of 160 on the back of impressive half-centuries by Iftikhar Ahmed (51) and Shan Masood (52*).

The Pakistan pacers reduced the Men in Blue to 31/4 in the seventh over. Shaheen Afridi, who returned to action after an injury break of three months, conceded just eight runs from his first two overs in the powerplay.

Shaheen Afridi was called back to bowl after left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz leaked 21 runs in the 11th over as Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli combined to hit three massive sixes.

While analyzing Babar Azam's captaincy on ICA Sports, Mohammad Amir said that the bowlers were not rotated properly by the captain.

"You have to assess the situation from all four corners when you are the captain. When you found out that Shaheen was not in the rhythm to bowl his first two overs. You should have understood that he isn't fit to bowl in the death overs. Could have bowled Shaheen's two overs in the middle as he could have picked wickets."

Mohammad Amir added:

"The way they (Indian batters) smashed sixes against Nawaz, they wouldn't have hit them against Shaheen. Had Shaheen bowled there (11th over), all you wanted was one wicket. If either Pandya or Kohli got out at that point, then you had the chance to win the game."

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"If Haris Rauf would have bowled at that point, Pakistan would have won the match 99 percent" - Mohammad Amir

With India needing 48 runs in the last three overs, Kohli struck a boundary off Shaheen Afridi to complete his fifty. He followed it up with two more boundaries to score 17 runs from that over.

Although Haris Rauf put the pressure back on India, Kohli hammered two sixes on the last two balls to bring the equation to 16 runs needed in the final over.

He dispatched a high full toss off Mohammad Nawaz into the stands to relieve the pressure. Some extra runs in wides and no-balls helped India seal a comfortable win in the last three balls.

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Speaking on Pakistan's failure to defend those 48 runs, Mohammad Amir was of the opinion that Rauf should have bowled the 18th over instead of Shaheen.

"The turning point of the game was India needing 48 runs in three overs to win. While the equation was at 60 in the last five overs, Haris conceded just 4-5 runs and then Naseem gave seven runs. To score 48 runs in three overs is not an easy job for any batter."

Mohammad Amir continued:

"As a captain, you should have thought about who your stop bowler is in such a situation. If Haris would have bowled at that point, with the kind of rhythm he was bowling, Pakistan would have won the match 99 percent. Haris might have picked up the wicket of either Pandya or Kohli in the 18th over."

Having suffered this narrow defeat, Pakistan will play their second game of the Super 12 stage against Zimbabwe on October 27 in Perth.