“Wrong captain, wrong selection, specially of the wicket-keeper led to the shameful defeat on Friday.” -Photo by AFP

LAHORE: Former PCB chief and ex-Test cricketer Ijaz Butt on Saturday lashed out at the Pakistan team for losing the opening T20 match to Sri Lanka in a sluggish way and blamed the team management for wrong planning which proved costly.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, Ijaz said: “Wrong captain, wrong selection, specially of the wicket-keeper (Shakeel Ansar) led to the shameful defeat on Friday.”

Ijaz said that he had advised Zaka not to remove Misbah as T20 skipper and avoid elevating Hafeez for that post since the all-rounder lacked leadership qualities, but his advice was not heeded.

The former PCB chairman further said Adnan Akmal or Sarfraz Ahmed could have been better choices as wicket-keeper in place of little-known Shakeel Ansar who could not impress with his skills behind the stumps.

Ijaz reckoned that Shahid Afridi and a few others did not deserve any place in the team.—Sports Reporter

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...