Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq criticised premier India batter Virat Kohli for his approach in the high-octane Asia Cup clash on Sunday. Kohli, who was making his comeback after a short break, looked a bit scratchy at the start but then picked up some pace to score some quality boundaries. However, he failed to score big and was dismissed on 35 after playing a loose shot against Mohammad Nawaz and got caught at long-off.
The legendary Pakistan batter was critical of Kohli’s batting and said even after facing 34 balls as he felt that the Indian batter didn’t look confident.
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“There was a lot of pressure on Kohli yesterday. Usually, it is difficult to dismiss a set batter, but I was surprised to see yesterday that Kohli was not looking confident even after getting set,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.
Inzamam also slammed the Indian management’s decision to drop Rishabh Pant from the XI for the Pakistan clash. The Men in Blue preferred Dinesh Karthik over Pant as the veteran wicketkeeper has been the designated finisher of the team since IPL 2022.
“India’s middle order and lower middle order is very strong. That is what sets them apart from the other teams in this Asia Cup. I was surprised that India chose to bench Rishabh Pant. The combination of Pant, Pandya and Jadeja is very dangerous. It was difficult to chase down 11 runs an over on this pitch, but they played really well,” he added.
The batting icon also gave advice to the Pakistan selection committee to find specialist batters for number 4 and 5 spots.
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“The selection committee and the management should do something about the middle order. The team seems to crumble after Fakhar Zaman gets out at No.3. They need to find proper solid batters for No.4 and No.5 spots. Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah are better suited in the lower middle order,” he added.
The 52-year-old also said that Pakistan need a fast-bowling all-rounder which they lacked during the India clash on Sunday, as a result, Mohammad Nawaz was asked to defend 7 runs in the final over which he failed to do.
“Pakistan need to play an all-rounder. I felt that Pakistan lacked a pace-bowling all-rounder yesterday. It would have been easier for Babar Azam,, he would have had an option for the final over. A captain should have at least six bowling options when it comes to T20 cricket,” he concluded.
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