Aaqib Javed: “Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali [are] one-dimensional players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan pace bowler Aaqib Javed said big-hitters Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah are both “one-dimensional players”.
The duo have failed to live up to expectations in the middle order, which has been an area of concern for Pakistan for a long time.
In the seven-match T20 series against England, Asif mustered 34 runs in four matches at an average of 11.33 and a strike-rate of 136.
As for Khushdil, he made 63 runs in five games at an average of 21 and a strike-rate of 112.50.
“Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali [are] one-dimensional players,” Aaqib told pak.tv as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Both of them were selected for the T20 tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh in Christchurch.
Khushdil didn’t play a single game, while Asif scored 32 runs at an average of 16 and a strike-rate of 114.28.
They are also part of Pakistan’s team for the ongoing 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
Pakistan kicked off their tournament with a heartbreaking four-wicket loss to India off the final ball of the match.
Their next match will be against Zimbabwe on Thursday in Perth.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir
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