Wahab Riaz: “There is currently lots of insecurity. Pakistan needed only one man in their middle order and that was Shoaib Malik”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz said veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik is the middle order batsman the national team need in T20Is.
The men in green have tried numerous players in their middle order, but have not been able to find an answer thus far.
Malik used to bat there with fellow senior Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez, but it seems as if the selectors want to give younger players a shot.
A few players like Iftikhar Ahmed, Shan Masood, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz have shown some promise, but whether they will fix the middle order problems the team have experienced for so long remains to be seen.
Despite a few candidates having stood up and shown that they have the potential, Wahab is still backing 40-year-old Malik as the key to Pakistan’s middle order woes.
“There is currently lots of insecurity. Pakistan needed only one man in their middle order and that was Shoaib Malik,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on Twitter.
Pakistan are now facing England in a three-Test series on home soil.
They lost the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs and are looking to bounce back in the ongoing second Test in Multan.
Pakistan’s Squad for England Test Series: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed