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Cricket Players'Don't agree with Wasim bhai when he says...': Inzamam strongly reacts to Akram's bashing of Mohammad Rizwan's knock
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq responded to Wasim Akram's rather strong criticism of Mohammad Rizwan following his knock against Hong Kong.
In their last group match of the Asia Cup, Pakistan thrashed an inexperienced Hong Kong side by 155 runs to book a place in the Super 4 stage. Posting a strong score of 193/2 in 20 overs, the men in green bowled Hong Kong out on merely 38, with spin-twins Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz taking seven wickets among them. With the bat, Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten on 78 off 57 deliveries while Fakhar Zaman (51) also scored a half-century. Khushil Shah (35* off 15 balls) provided the late bloom in the Pakistan innings to take them to a strong total in Sharjah.
Rizwan was named the player of the match in the game but former Pakistan pacer and bowling legend Wasim Akram expressed his extreme disappointment at the way the wicketkeeper-batter played out his innings against Hong Kong. Akram stated that Rizwan should have gone for big hits because Pakistan had a batting depth and others players could have gotten an opportunity to play.
“Rizwan going not out for me was a big no-no. If you are there, try to hit a couple of boundaries, get out, get fresh legs in there. You have Asif, Ittikhar, Nawaz, Shadab.. you bat till no. 8-9. What's the point in this format going not out on 75 off 57 deliveries?” Akram said in a rather stern manner during his stint with Star Sports after the game.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq reacted to Akram's comments on country's news channel Geo Super, after the clip of the latter's remarks was played out. Inzamam said he didn't agree with the former Pakistan pacer on Rizwan giving away his wicket, but insisted the wicketkeeper-batter “could have taken chances.”
“I was saying the same thing but I don't agree with Wasim bhai when he says he should get out. We were saying that if Asif had gotten the opportunity to bat, it would be nice. I think Wasim bhai meant that the top-3 should try and play 12-13 overs. Against Hong Kong, they stayed till those overs but Rizwan could have taken some chances,” Inzamam said.
“They should've planned their batting. Our problem was till the 10th over of the match, where we scored only 64. Against a team like Hong Kong, it wasn't a big score. We could've been under pressure if we had lost wickets. Also, if our lower-order had some opportunity, it would have been better,” Inzamam further said.
Pakistan will return to action later on Sunday when they take on arch-rivals India in their first match of the Super 4 stage.
