Karachi, Sep 13: Former wicket-keeper batter Kamran Akmal slammed the Babar Azam-led side after it faced a 228-run hammering by India in the Asia Cup Super 4 match on Monday.
With Kohli (122 not out off 94 balls) and Rahul (111 not out off 106 balls), India posted a mammoth score of 356 for 2 after an outstanding opening start. Destroying the Pakistan batting order, Kuldeep Yadav bowled really well, recording 5/25.
It is fair to say that Pakistan suffered a significant setback as a result of the dramatic decline in Net Run Rate as well as the landslide defeat suffered at the hands of its bitter rivals. Prior to the game, Pakistan was in first place, however, their NRR dropped to -1.892, moving them to third place.
Kamran Akmal talking on his YouTube channel lashed out at the Pakistan batter for being aggressive and management for not communicating well.
“If you want a good performance in the World Cup, if you want to play in the Asia Cup final, and if you have this approach, you will struggle to even beat the Netherlands. What is the management doing? Who told you to bowl first? At least tell players to stay on the crease. Your run rate has suffered badly. You chased 190-odd runs in 40-odd overs against Bangladesh,” said Akmal
"Send messages. The way Shadab, Iftikhar, and Salman got out. You had to tell them to play the full overs and take the score to at least 260-280. They know the PCB won't ask them tough questions. There's no game plan, no approach.
“Everyone has gone on holiday. I'm sorry to say, you've performed like school boys against a top team,” he concluded.
Pakistan will face Sri Lanka on Friday, September 15 which will be a must-win match for both teams. Whoever wins the match will get to the finals of Asia Cup 2023
If the match gets washed out, Sri Lanka will automatically qualify for the final as they have better NRR than Pakistan. (IANS)
