Ahmed Shehzad on Gary Kirsten: “He must show confidence and these are weak statements. This is not how a winner talks”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Pakistan top order batsman Ahmed Shehzad has called out limited overs head coach Gary Kirsten for making “weak statements”.
He admitted to being irked by Kirsten’s remarks about winning one out of the next three International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments.
While he praised Kirsten’s coaching credentials, Shehzad pointed out that “this is not how a winner talks” and wants the former South Africa batsman to show more confidence in the team.
“Gary Kirsten is a renowned coach but he will be fed information by those who will select the team. He does not have a base in Lahore nor has he grown up in Pakistan to understand the nature of different players,” he told Geo News as quoted by NDTV.
“At the end of the day, those involved with PCB are the ones who will be guiding him and doing all of this two years will have passed by.
“Already he has made a statement that I did not like. Kirsten said if we do not win the upcoming T20 World Cup then we might do well in the next two. So already he is keeping himself in a safe position. He must show confidence and these are weak statements. This is not how a winner talks.”
The Pakistan team recently took on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series, which ended as a 2-2 draw.
After that, they faced Ireland in a three-match T20I series and claimed a 2-1 win.
Next up for the men in green will be four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Following this, they will participate in the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: I lost 9 years, former Pakistan prodigy concedes he made a big mistake