'It would have been good for Haris Rauf if Babar Azam...': Misbah, Malik blame PAK skipper after historic defeat vs AFG

Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik blamed Babar Azam's captaincy after Pakistan crashed to a historic defeat vs Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup.

Afghanistan created history on Monday, bagging their first-ever win against Pakistan in ODI history, in Match 22 of the ongoing 2023 World Cup, in Chennai. Chasing 283 runs, Afghanistan reached 286/2 in 49 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77*) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65). Meanwhile, Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (48*) hit the match-winning four as his side won by eight wickets.

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam (L) talks with his teammate Haris Rauf. (AFP)

Initially, a three-wicket haul by Noor Ahmad saw Afghanistan restrict Pakistan to 282/7 in 50 overs. Meanwhile, Naveen-ul-Haq bagged two dismissals. For Pakistan, Babar Azam (74) and Abdullah Shafique (58) bagged half-centuries.

Pakistan bowlers were put in the spotlight, as they were smashed all across the field by Afghan batters. Only Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi took a wicket each, but also leaked 44 and 58 runs respectively. Haris Rauf, in particular, conceded 53 runs in eight overs, failing to take a wicket.

Reacting after the match, Pakistan legend Misbah-ul-Haq blamed Babar Azam's captaincy for Rauf's poor form. "We can see that whenever Haris Rauf is given the ball to bowl in the powerplay, he is struggling. He is low in confidence, he is leaking 18-20 runs in his first over. We have spoken after the last match against Australia as well, how New Zealand bring Mitchell Santner in the eighth or the ninth over. It is an attacking option, since it is the last over of the powerplay, batsmen tries to take risk. It is a gamble, you can take wicket as well," he said.

"It would have been good for Haris’s confidence if captain would have given the ball after the powerplay, when there are four fielders in the deep. Then he can bowl his bouncers. If he is bowling short of length outside the off stump, he will have a sweeper cover. Now what’s happening is that he is getting hit four boundaries in the first over and he is done for the whole game.

"We know that Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran play the pace bowling well. If we could have bring the spinners early and forced them to attack, they could have got in trouble," he further added.

Meanwhile, former player Shoaib Malik also supported Misbah's stance and felt that Babar wasn't being creative. "Sorry to interrupt Misbah bhai! our spin department is also struggling. Our captain don’t think out of the box. Saud Shakeel is there, he can bowl you don’t give him the ball," he said.

Afghanistan have now bagged two wins and three defeats in their ongoing campaign. Meanwhile, Pakistan have two victories and three defeats. Pakistan face South Africa in their upcoming match, on Friday. Meanwhile, Afghanistan face Sri Lanka on Monday. A win will be crucial for both sides as the race to the knockout round intensifies.