Usama Mir dropping David Warner's catch was not surprising for me: Shahid Afridi
The left-handed opener was dropped on 10 runs by Mir
Former Pakistan cricketer and captain, Shahid Afridi, opened up on Usama Mir dropping David Warner’s catch during the 18th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Bengaluru, India, on October 20.
October 20th belonged to the Aussies as their opening pair of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh smashed the Pakistani bowlers all over the ground and created a record 259-run partnership.
In the starting overs, Warner, who scored 163, was dropped on just 10 runs by Usama Mir, who came into the squad in place of the struggling Shadab Khan.
Talking on a local TV channel, Afridi said that the catch drop was not a surprise to him as Usama’s fielding has always been a matter of concern for him.
“If you ask me, I have only found one fault in Usama from the time I was the chief selector, that was his fielding. When I selected him, I told him I am not satisfied with your fielding, yes we are selecting you as a genuine bowler, but you have to improve your fielding,” Afridi said.
“This is what I had in mind, and that [dropping Warner’s catch] was not a surprise for me. I mean the positioning of his hands, the ball hit his chest, it was not even that the ball slipped after touching the hands.”
Afridi then denied the claims of “additional pressure” on the newly included players by saying that international cricket is all about pressure.
“International cricket is all about pressure and how you are going to handle it. Usama Mir did not go directly to the national team from U19, he has played matches. Performing under pressure is everything. If you have been given an opportunity, then it is your job to avail it,” Afridi added.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan is currently having a tough time in the World Cup after suffering back-to-back defeats against arch-rivals India and Australia in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
The Green Shirts also have two victories to their name but they came against relatively weak sides of the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, with the latter missing a few key players.
And now, the match against Afghanistan is a must-win for the Men in Green because any outcome other than a victory would make things difficult for Babar Azam-led Pakistan in the World Cup.
