Afridi is an absolutely clueless captain- Pakistan team manager
In a report to the PCB following the Pakistan team's dismal showing, team manager Intikhab Alam has labelled captain Shahid Afridi as “absolutely clueless”. With Pakistan crashing out of the T20 WC early on, the former cricketer also highlighted the team's gaps in batting, bowling and fielding.
"Much to our chagrin was a captain in his farewell event after a career spanning nearly 20 years, yet absolutely clueless in terms of on-field tactics and off-field leadership," Intikhab wrote in his report, reported ESPNcricinfo.
The report submitted in the aftermath of Pakistan’s dismal showing in the WorldT20, where they won only one game, also brings to light Pakistan’s failings in all departments. “The recent Asia Cup and the ICC World T20 have made it evident that we have critical gaps both in batting and bowling, and our fielding keeps on leaking runs, thus releasing pressure.”
However, Intikhab reserved a small token of praise for Amir, before blasting the rest of the bowling. “In bowling, with the exception of Mohammad Amir, we do not have a bowler who can win us matches. Our death bowling also is way below par. And the same goes with our batting line-up, where we do not have reliable pinch hitters and the top and power hitter to clinch us games," wrote the 74-year old.
These problems are nothing new for Pakistan cricket, however. "These very same reasons continued to be Team Pakistan's bugbear, but since this was a global tournament with the top-most competing for honours, the magnitude of the stress, and the pressure was even more pronounced," Intikhab wrote, reported ESPNcricinfo.
"To cap it all, the tournament was being held in India, where the team was under multiple scanners at the same time, pushing the stress and anxiety levels very high," Intikhab concluded.