Former Pakistan cricketer Sikandar Bakht did not mince his words while criticising opening batters Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub after they failed in the first ODI against Australia.
Abdullah (12) and Saim (1) returned to the pavilion inside seven overs with a meagre 24 runs on the board during Pakistan’s two-wicket loss against Australia in the series opener.
Sikandar Bakht, during an interview at a local news channel, labelled them as burdens on the team after repeated failures.
“Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub have become burdens on the squad,” Bakht said.
The former pacer also slammed Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan and star batter Babar Azam for their lack of responsibility and inconsistency with the bat.
“Babar and Rizwan are currently the most senior players in the team, yet they never stand as a pillar for the team during tough times,” he added.
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Sikandar Bakht stressed that the only impact player in the team is explosive opening batter Fakhar Zaman, who was dropped from the squad for the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe.
“I’ve been saying it for a while—Pakistan had only one true match-winner in ODIs… Fakhar Zaman and he’s been dropped from the team,” Bakht said.
Notably, the second match of the series will be played on 8 November (tomorrow) in Adelaide, while Perth will host the third ODI on 10 November.
The ODI series will be followed by a three-match T20I series between Pakistan and Australia, scheduled to commence on November 14.
Brisbane will host the first T20I, with the next matches scheduled for November 16 and 18 in Sydney and Hobart, respectively.
READ: Legendary Australian captain urges Babar Azam to follow Virat Kohli’s footsteps