In a post match conference Malik lashed out at Shoaib Akhtar and questioned his commitment in the field.
Shoaib Akhtar struggled with his line and length in both matches and looked hapless in the field, in todays match he was thrashed all over the park by Dilshan and Jayasuriya and was taken out of the attack after he conceded 22 runs in his first two overs.
Once feared by the batsmen all over the world for his 100mph deliveries was struggling to bowl around 80mph.
Fast bowlers at the twilight of their career do lose their pace but they develop other weapons i.e clincial accuracy and movement to maintain their value and effectiveness but the same is not true for Shoaib he has lost his pace and has also lost his movement and accuracy. Pace was his biggest weapon he was never a big exponent of reverse swing like Waqar and Wasim he always got his wickets on sheer pace, he thinks he can still bowl as fast as he once used to but his aging body has deserted him.
Shoaib should accept reality and should take an honorable exit like Q at well pitched has suggested.
Malik had every right to be disappointed by the performance of Shoaib Akhtar and was fully justified in questioning his commitment on the field, even the best of bowlers do get thrashed in limited overs cricket once in a while but it was not the quality of the batting to be blamed it was just poor bowling, Akhtar kept on bowling short and Dilshan kept on punishing him, bowlers of his experience if they are committed they learn and change their tactics but Shoaib remained persistent with his short pitched length in both matches.
<b>In fact all the seniors who accused Malik of conspiring against them were guilty of poor performance themselves, Younis, Shoaib, Afridi, and Misbah none of them could perform. None of them had any match awareness and threw away their wickets one after another and this has not happened for the first time the same culprits were responsible for the Pakistan’s loss in the T20 WC and the Odi series against SA.</b>
Afridi failed to realize that there was a power play left and he could have taken advantage of it the selectors should also assess his level of commitment with the team.The last seven wickets fell for a mere 36 runs.
The inclusion of Afridi in the team only increases the length of the Pakistan’s tail his bowling in the previous match was also not impressive and his performance in todays match was not such that he can’t be replaced.
Pakistan should also realize that Tanvir can’t bat. The selectors should try out other all rounders to develop a stronger combination.
Malik led from the front in both matches and is showing improvement as a captain his open statement about Shoaib Akhtar is also a sign of maturity he is the captain of the team and should mince no words when talking about players who do not perform and get automatic selection in the team just because of politics and seniority.
The selectors should seriously consider Mohammed Aamir and Sohail Khan.
Sarfraz Ahmed should be given more chances and Kamran Akmal should no more be considered as a default wicket keeper for Pakistan he continues to drop catches on the bowling of Afridi he can’t keep against spinners his keeping has been pathetic against all leg spinners. His batting is also not consistent and can’t be regarded as an advantage.
SriLanka enjoys a clear advantage over Pakistan when playing in finals of a series, they will come out more confident and strong while Pakistan should get rid of Shoaib and Tanvir if they have to win the series they will also have to strengthen their batting.
Malik should not have back tracked from his statement abut shoaib Akhtar, he should be bold enough to call a spade a spade, Akhtar and some other seniors disappointed everybody and any captain would have taken them to task, Malik should be straight forward when talking to the media and should mince no words.
He should also remain persistent with his demand to inject fresh blood into the team and should be more vocal about it.
KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has backtracked over criticisms he made about Shoaib Akhtar’s fielding during their team’s 129-run loss to Sri Lanka in a limited-overs international.
‘The commitment which I need from him in the field is not there,’ Malik said Wednesday about Akhtar.
But Malik denied he was speaking specifically about the fast bowler, claiming he was talking about the whole 15-man squad.
‘I definitely talked about whoever who could not field for 50 overs,’ Malik said Friday.
‘I didn’t get personal against anyone. I don’t think I named anyone individually. It could be me or anyone who is selected in the squad.’
The result leveled the series at 1-1 after Pakistan won the first game by eight wickets. Lahore hosts the final match Saturday.
The 33-year-old Akhtar has made an unimpressive comeback after 14 months out due to injuries and disciplinary issues.
He has taken just one wicket in two games, conceding 88 runs from 13 overs —bowling seven in the first match and six in the second.
‘He is definitely struggling to get back into rhythm after spending so much time on the sidelines.’ Malik said. ‘(But) he is the same bowler who used to run through batting lineups in one spell of bowling.’