Team India will meet Pakistan in the group stage of the T20 World Cup on Sunday and will aim to further solidify their qualification chances for the Super 8s. While India made a strong start to their campaign with a cruising 8-wicket win against Ireland, Pakistan faced one of the biggest shocks of the tournament's history when they faced a Super Over defeat at the hands of United States.
Among the many failures for Pakistan in the first match against USA, the most prominent was that of Azam Khan, the wicketkeeper-batter who was dismissed on a first-ball duck. Moreover, Azam didn't keep the wickets in the match, with Mohammad Rizwan doing the glovework, and the former didn't field in the game for a considerable period too.
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Azam faced significant criticism on social media platforms for his poor batting against the USA, and former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram spoke in detail about Azam's outing against the USA during a chat with ABP News. Akram stated that Azam is not helping his cause and that some of the decisions made by the team management are beyond his understanding.
{{/usCountry}}Azam faced significant criticism on social media platforms for his poor batting against the USA, and former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram spoke in detail about Azam's outing against the USA during a chat with ABP News. Akram stated that Azam is not helping his cause and that some of the decisions made by the team management are beyond his understanding.
{{/usCountry}}“Babar needed a power hitter. Azam... he's my friend's (Moin Khan) son. He grew up in front of me, but he's not helping his cause,” Akram said.
“During our times, you could've probably gone off the radar. There was no social media. You just cannot hide. When we played against the USA, you didn't play him as a wicketkeeper. He didn't field for 8 overs. He played as a pinch-hitter, but he couldn't come with Fakhar because he sat out for 8 overs. I just couldn't understand that,” said the former Pakistan skipper further.
Kirsten on underperforming Pakistan stars
Despite their experimentation before the tournament Pakistan are still trying to find the right combination. Azam and Shadab Khan have struggled to be the backbone of the middle order. Kirsten acknowledged that the team needs individual performances, but in a game against India, team effort will be the key to victory.
"Yes, we need individuals to make good performances, but playing games like this, I think, is a real team effort. It's a big game, so we're going to treat it as any other game. But certainly, give it our best shot. The team's motivated. I mean, if that's what you're questioning, two days ago is forgotten. We can't take it back. It's gone. So, we move on," Kirsten noted.