Former Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Aamer Sohail has lashed out at Mohammad Nawaz, saying his bowling is worse than that of a club cricketer.
After Pakistan lost by one wicket to South Africa in Chennai on October 27, criticism poured in from the left, right, and center, and the country was thrown into turmoil.
Pakistan defended their score of 270 to win and outlasted South Africa’s fightback, reducing their score from 235-5 to 260-9. However, they were unable to take the final wicket as South African spin duo Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi added the last 11 runs for a thrilling finish.
Nawaz was handed over for 48 at the end of the target run after all three seamers – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr – completed their quota of 10 overs each.
However, Nawaz could not withstand the pressure. He delivered his two relatively easy throws, which were enough for Maharaj and Shamsi to end the chase.
Babar Azam was heavily criticized for ceding the match to Nawaz instead of Osama Mir, who had taken two wickets in the previous innings, but Was this actually a wrong call on Babar’s part? I doubt it..
Nawaz, along with his captain, joined the barrage of Pakistani fans and media. Former captain and chief selector Aamer Sohail said after the match that he was never convinced to play against Nawaz. “Every time there was talk of playing Nawaz, I was not convinced.
Sohail explained his position and said Nawaz harmed the team by leaving the World Cup early. “That’s because he suffered before today’s game and was sent off twice when there was plenty of ball left, against India and against Australia. And he will be in this game again.
“Today he came out in the 46th over. He had 24 balls left. Even if he had hit 15 off 24 balls, it would have made a big difference.”
Sohail was particularly critical of Nawaz’s bowling, even going so far as to say it was worse than any club cricketer. “And if you look at his bowling, he’s not even a club-level cricketer and should already be playing for Pakistan.”
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