Misbah-ul-Haq: “You suddenly bring Amir with the new ball ahead of Naseem”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has questioned some of the decisions limited overs captain Babar Azam has made lately, particularly regarding letting left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir bowl with the new ball ahead of Naseem Shah.
Naseem usually shares the new ball with Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Azam changed that up during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Misbah doesn’t understand why the 29-year-old did this, especially since Naseem has proven himself to be one of Pakistan’s most effective bowlers.
“You suddenly bring Amir with the new ball ahead of Naseem,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Naseem took five wickets in three games during the T20 World Cup at an average of 14.20 and an economy rate of 5.91.
As for Amir, he finished with seven wickets in four matches at an average of 10.28 and an economy rate of 4.50.
Pakistan began the tournament with consecutive losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to beat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they won their last two group stage games, it was not enough to get them through to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed