Pakistan suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the 'virtual semi-final’ of the Asia Cup 2023 as it missed out on a chance to seal a title clash against India in the tournament. In a rain-interrupted 42-over match in Colombo, Sri Lanka won on the last ball of the game; With nerves of steel, Charit Asalanga (49*) secured his side’s place in the Asia Cup 2023 final. Shaheen Afridi almost threatened to wrest victory from Sri Lanka in the last over, but in the end, Asalanga’s composure prevailed as he guided Sri Lanka to victory off the last ball, shattering Pakistan’s hopes.
Pakistan were already struggling with injuries to their star pace duo Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan’s poor form added to their worries. The 24-year-old got off to a good start in Pakistan’s opening game against Nepal, taking 4 wickets. However, his performance later took a dip with only two wickets to his name in the Super 4 stage against Sri Lanka and India. Notably, during Pakistan’s Super 4 win over Bangladesh, Shatab Khan struggled to make any progress, failing to get a single batsman out.
In the match against Sri Lanka, Shatab scored only 3 runs and conceded 55 runs for one wicket in nine overs. Following Pakistan’s exit from the tournament, former captain Shahid Afridi spoke at length about Pakistan’s squad selection and took cues from the Indian team to explain how Babar Azam and the team management did not use their back-up players.
“This is a perennial problem. India is playing in Asia Cup and I saw changes in their team in almost every game. They have rested the seniors and played as juniors, which shows that they are preparing for the World Cup. These results are so important that you pick a 15-man squad because the players are as good as those in the XI. „You should have no problem resting the first-choice players,” Afridi said The same TV
“If Shatab rests, there is Osama Mir. He has done well for Pakistan in the past. If someone doesn’t play a few matches, you have to give him a break. I’m not saying drop him from the 15 man squad, you can keep him in the squad and rest him. Let him have sessions with the head coach and the bowling coach. I don’t really know what our plans are,” Afridi added.
Pakistan returns with World Cup
The team will now return to action in the ODI World Cup when they begin their campaign with a warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29. Pakistan’s run kickstarts with a crucial match against the Netherlands on October 6.