Pakistan’s head coach Saqlain Mushtaq defended Mohammad Rizwan after the wicket-keeper batter scored 55 runs from 49 balls in the Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Sri Lanka posted a par score of 170 runs on the board after Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, Rizwan failed to score his runs at a healthy strike rate.
In fact, when Rizwan was dismissed, Pakistan required 61 runs from 23 balls and the match had already slipped from their grasp. Rizwan failed to change gears and former Pakistan’s former gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar criticize his knock after Pakistan’s defeat.
“Every team and player has their own style and method. The way we played, we reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year, we got to the final of an Asia Cup here. Evidence suggests you’re doing something right to get here. It’s not compulsory that you do what the rest of the world is doing [in terms of strike rates and showing more intent with the bat]. We’d rather focus on the small things we aren’t doing right instead of looking at what others are doing. His andaaz [method] is not bad.”
On the other hand, Mushtaq feels the team has to take the toss out of the equation and a champion team wins in every situation and Sri Lanka was the deserving winner.
“If you’re a champion team, you need to be a champion irrespective of whether it’s first innings or second innings,” Saqlain said at the press conference. “In the previous game, they asked us to bat first and won. In this game, we batted second and they still won. The way they played in both games, it’s well-deserved.”
Meanwhile, Babar Azam struggled to get going in the multi-team tournament. The Pakistan captain could only manage five runs in the all-important final and didn’t look at his best. Azam could only manage 68 runs in six matches of the Asia Cup.
Saqlain added, “I said it earlier too, if someone looks at his batting, you’d just say he’s unlucky, especially the way he’s getting out. It’s just a patch. If you look at the rankings, he’s top in T20Is and in ODIs. It’s just been bad luck. The way he’s training and playing it’s amazing. His work ethic is top-notch. I don’t need to say more.”
