Asia Cup 2022: 'We are heading in right direction,' says Saqlain despite Super 4 loss against Sri Lanka

KARACHI: Despite losing to Sri Lanka in their last Super Four clash of the T20 Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium, Pakistan's head coach Saqlain Mushtaq expressed his satisfaction with the squad's performance and stated that the team is still moving in the right direction.

In a post-match press conference, Mushtaq commended Sri Lanka for their outstanding performance across the board and said the Green Shirts are confident despite the loss on Friday.

"Sri Lanka played really well in all three departments. Many things need to be considered; there is a workload factor too. The workload has been high for fast bowlers who have been consistently bowling. We chased well against India, and overall if we see the matches, things are heading in the right direction and we are very confident.

"In the shorter version, if you keep a look at other teams, not many players are scoring big scores, and if you see our overall performance, we played well in T20 cricket, in the World Cup, and against West Indies, and we have played Asia Cup well too so we shouldn't overthink," said Saqlain.

The former cricketer dismissed worries over skipper Babar Azam's performance, saying that he is simply being unlucky.

"I am not here to back Babar, but if someone has a deeper eye, they would tell that his form is fine; he has just been unlucky. Obviously, today's 30 runs from Babar will boost the entire team."

Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the mega final of the Asian event at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.