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Updated July 16th, 2021 at 20:03 IST

Pakistan has more 'wrestlers than players' claims Aaqib Javed, questions team's fitness

Former Pakistani cricketer, Aaqib Javed has joined the list of veterans who have expressed their disappointment over Pakistan's clean-sweep against England

Reported by: Ujjwal Samrat
Aaqib Javed/Babar Azam
Image Credits: @Ajavedofficial / Twitter | Image:self
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Babar Azam & Co. have been facing criticism from left, right, and centre ever since Pakistan were whitewashed by an inexperienced England in the 3-match ODI series. Now, former Pakistani cricketer, Aaqib Javed has joined the list of veterans who have expressed disappointment over Pakistan's clean-sweep. Aaqib Javed while talking to Geo News, raised questions on the fitness of the Pakistan cricketers who were a part of the upcoming T20 series against England. 

Aaqib Javed on Pakistan T20 squad against England

Ahead of Babar Azam & Co. taking on England in the T20 series, Aaquib Javed said, "They don't know what they are doing or what is their direction. I see more wrestlers than players in the T20 team. There are question marks over the fitness of Sharjeel Khan, Azam Khan, Sohaib Maqsood for international level."

"If you look at the team they have several players of similar nature or for one position. Is this the way to move forward," he questioned.

Sohaib Maqsood was added to the Pakistan squad after Haider Ali was pulled out for violating COVID regulations. Notably, Pakistan will face England's full-strength squad in the T20 series. 

PAKISTAN T20I Team: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sharjeel Khan and Usman Qadir.

Ajmal Terms Babar Azam & Co 'big Flop'

Former Pakistan cricketer Saeed Ajmal slammed the Babar Azam & co over their latest defeat against England in the recently-concluded ODI series. Speaking on his YouTube channel following Pakistan's whitewash, Ajmal pinned the blame of Pakistan's loss on the side's bowling department as well as the middle-order batting, described it as a "huge flop." According to Ajmal, the Pakistani middle order will be unable to put up a commendable score on the board if the top order failed. Further, Ajmal claimed that Pakistan only had one or two top players on whom the entire team's success was dependent. 

England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI

As far as the third match is concerned, Pakistani batters made a comeback with Babar Azam scoring his career-best ODI score of 158 runs to help his side post a big total. Contributions from Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan also helped the cause. However, this time around, the bowlers failed to bowl England out as they allowed them to chase down the target of 332 runs in 48 overs. 

England's James Vince and Lewis Gregory made sure their side reaches the target successfully to win the series 3-0. Vince scored a magnificent 102 off 95 balls, including 11 boundaries, while Gregory hit 77 off 69 balls, including 6 fours and 3 maximums. Opener Phil Salt, Zak Crawley, and skipper Ben Stokes also contributed to the team's total with each scoring some 30 odd runs. While Vince was adjudged the player of the match for his match-winning century, Saqib Mahmood was given the player of the series award for amazing performance with the ball. 

(Image Credits: @Ajavedofficial/Twitter/AP)

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Published July 16th, 2021 at 20:03 IST

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