Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi expressed his disappointment with the team management’s decision to make changes in the batting order for the crucial Asia Cup 2023 match against Sri Lanka. In the must-win game between the two quality sides Pakistan skipper Babar Azam made the unexpected decision to bat first after winning the toss on a day when the game was interrupted by rain.
The Men in Green batting line struggled to get going against India in a game with the team facing a humiliating defeat of 228 runs in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup, which eventually made the Sri Lanka match virtually semifinal between both sides in Colombo.
Coming into the game against Sri Lanka, Pakistan opted to first and made five changes to their playing 11 with Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Salman Ali Agha missed out, replaced by Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Haris, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Wasim and Zaman Khan.
Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam were removed early. Abdullah Shafique scored a half-century, but the other batters failed to contribute, and at one point the Men in Green were reduced to 130/5 before Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed stabilised Pakistan’s innings to assist their team in achieving, a total of 252/7 at the end of the 50 overs.
Taking His X handle, According to Shahid Afridi, Pakistan failed to send the right player at the right moment and their batting lineup against Sri Lanka wasn’t as strong as it could have been.
Did Pakistan miss the trick? We could have made better choices in the batting order. What do you guys think?
In my opinion this was not the best batting order according to the situation. @Asiacup2023— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 14, 2023
“Did Pakistan miss the trick? We could have made better choices in the batting order. What do you guys think? In my opinion, this was not the best batting order according to the situation. @Asiacup2023,” Shahid Afridi wrote on his X handle.
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by two wickets using the DLS technique to advance to the Asia Cup 2023 final. Sri Lanka overcame the total in the final ball of the game 42 thanks in part to a heroic batting performance from Kusal Mendis (91) and Charith Asalanka (49 not out). Pakistan got so close, but in the end, a few small overthrow runs cost them dearly in a game of fine margin.
Dasun Shanaka’s led side has performed extremely well in the continental event despite missing a few key players due to the Injury and they will take on the high-quality India in the final on Sunday.