"They will pick Shadab Khan with their eyes shut" - Rashid Latif's stern warning to Pakistan spinner after defeat against India
Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif lashed out at Pakistan's bowling attack following their recent defeat against India in the ongoing ICC men's World Cup 2023.
Hosts India continued their unbeaten streak by mustering a seven-wicket victory over their arch-rivals in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The Men in Blue chased a mediocre target of 192 with almost 20 overs to spare.
Shadab Khan was the most expensive bowler from Pakistan, conceding 31 runs from four overs. Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer targeted him with some crisp boundaries.
In his latest column for The Indian Express, Rashid Latif mentioned that Shadab Khan struggles to perform against top teams and the best batters can pick up his bowling with ease.
"Shadab Khan’s spells against the minor teams are exceptional but when it comes to the top five side, he struggles. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Glenn Maxwell, and David Miller face the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Rashid Khan and Tabraiz Shamsi in the nets; they will pick Shadab with their eyes shut," the 55-year-old wrote.
Latif further added that fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf lacked mental toughness while bowling against India.
"I don’t know if Shaheen Afridi is injured, but he looked fatigued," he continued. "Haris Rauf will have to learn how to hit the good lengths consistently. In the T20Is, the four-over spell can make you a superstar by firing all the cylinders in 24 balls. But in the ODIs and Test cricket, you need that mental toughness that was lacking in Ahmedabad."
"Sweep shots are not for the Asian cricketers" - Rashid Latif
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan put on 82 runs for the third wicket, which was the only highlight of their batting in the high-octane clash.
Rashid Latif, however, wasn't satisfied with the duo's approach against Indian spinners. He pointed out, saying:
"Coming back to the India game, the way two of our senior batsmen [Babar and Rizwan] played Kuldeep and Jadeja was also bizarre. They were not able to read Kuldeep and all of a sudden, they started playing sweep shots."
Latif added:
"Sweep shots are not for the Asian cricketers. Players from England and South Africa used to play sweep when they didn’t pick Abdul Qadir or Shane Warne."
Pakistan will play their next fixture against five-time world champions Australia on Friday, October 20, at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.