PAK vs ENG: Shoaib Malik suggests Pakistan’s batting order after second England T20I defeat

Shoaib Malik opened up after Pakistan’s 23-run defeat in the second T20I against England which took place at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, on Saturday, suggesting what the batting order should be ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Malik, who represented Pakistan in 446 international matches, took to his X, formerly Twitter, account saying that this is international cricket, not Pakistan Super League (PSL) before he went on to state the batting order for the World Cup.

The all-rounder excluded Saim Ayub from the batting order as the left-hander has been struggling to perform for Pakistan and the fans have started to question his inclusion in the squad.

“This is not PSL this is international cricket that too, just before T20 World Cup. IMO, the batting order should be,” Malik posted on X.

“Fakhar [Zaman], [Mohammad] Rizwan, Babar [Azam], Iftikhar [Ahmed], Imad [Wasim] Shadab [Khan].”

He also stated that the captain, Babar Azam, should utilise the bench wisely and give more time to Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed to settle down as asking them to start scoring 12-14 runs per over just after coming to bat is “unfair”.

“Captain needs to utilise the options on the bench wisely. Moving forward, the captain should give time & enough overs to Azam & Iftikhar to settle first, expecting them to score 12-14 rightaway is unfair. All the best for remaining matches,” he added.

Babar and Co. were bowled out for 160 while chasing a target of 184. This is England's eighth win in the last 11 T20Is against Pakistan.

Fakhar starred for Pakistan in a losing cause as the left-handed batter played an explosive knock of 45 runs off 21 balls. Azam scored 32 runs on 26 balls as he was the second-highest run-getter.

Meanwhile, down the order, Iftikhar (23 off 17) and Imad (22 off 13) provided crucial runs but they weren’t enough to propel Pakistan to victory.

For England, Reece Topley picked three wickets. Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer bagged two each while Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone picked one.

Earlier, Jos Buttler played a captain's knock and scored 84 runs on 51 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes.

Pakistan were off to a great start as Imad Wasim removed Phil Salt in the fourth over but England recovered brilliantly as Buttler and Will Jacks formed a 71-run partnership which brought the home side back in the game.

Jacks scored 37 off 23 with six boundaries while Jonny Bairstow contributed 21 runs. Meanwhile, the likes of Harry Brook, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone failed to score in double digits.

Jofra Archer scored 12 runs in the last over which helped England conclude their innings at 183/7 in the allocated overs.

For Pakistan, Shaheen bagged three wickets while Imad and Rauf picked two each. While Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir failed to take a single wicket.

Comments

Submit

Awais commented 3 weeks ago

Malik is right no more opportunity to saim give chance to usman avoid friendship

Reply

Kamalhyat commented 3 weeks ago

Agree with change in the openers Sham Ayub and shahdab need to be dropped and salman agha as batsmen and off spin bowling option plus ibrar leg spinner be inducted. Fail to understand babar decision to continue with Shahdab despite the hammering when he could have asked iftikhar to bowl?

Reply

Masood jalal commented 2 weeks ago

Azam Khan doesn't have place in playing eleven. Shoaib should be fair enough to select 11. Azam Khan consistently flailed although he got enough overs to show his strength. He also dropped simple catches and because of his weight he cannot field anywhere else.

Reply