Ijaz Butt blames wrong selection for T20 defeat

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“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

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