Ex-Pakistan skipper raises questions on Babar Azam's captaincy; 'Biggest mistake was...'

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif slammed Babar Azam over his tactics in the final of the 2022 Asia Cup on Sunday. Pakistan and Sri Lanka squared off against each other in the final match of the continental cup, where the Men in Green suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Lankan Lions to lose the chance of winning their third Asia Cup title. After the game, Rashid raised questions on Babar's captaincy and said that the 27-year-old should have bowled out Haris Rauf when Pakistan had an edge.  

Asia Cup 2022 final: Rashid questions Babar's captaincy

Pakistan's fast-bowling attack, including Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, provided the team with a solid start by picking three wickets in the powerplay. Sri Lanka were struggling at 58 for 5 at one stage in the game. However, Babar let the advantage slip off Pakistan's hands after he decided to save Rauf's overs for the backend of the Sri Lankan innings. According to Rashid, Babar's decision to save Rauf for the death overs allowed Sri Lanka to make a comeback and eventually take the score to 170 when Pakistan could have easily restricted them to 120-130. 

"When they were 58 for 5, it seemed the target would be 120-130. But Wanindu Hasaranga released pressure of Bhanuka Rajapaksa. Runs kept coming from 11th over on to the 15th. He took the game in his hands and Rajapaksa too started scoring quickly," Rashid said while speaking to PTV.

“The biggest mistake was in bowling. If I were the captain, I would have bowled out Haris Rauf after five wickets fell and gone for wickets. Instead, Babar bowled part-time spinner. That surprised me. The main spinner was Mohammad Nawaz and you gave him just one over then. I wouldn’t even have bought him but attacked with fast bowlers. No wickets fell from the 8th to 15 and run-rate also kept climbing," Rashid continued to say. 

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 23 runs to win their sixth Asia Cup title in Dubai on Sunday. The match started with Pakistan gaining an upper hand by winning the toss and electing to bowl first. Pakistani pacers put immediate pressure on the Sri Lanka batting lineup as they picked three wickets in the powerplay. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Dhananjaya de Silva steadied Sri Lanka's innings with knocks of 71*, 36, and 28 runs, respectively. Haris Rauf picked three wickets, while Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, and Iftikhar Ahmed scalped one wicket each to their names. 

In the second innings, Sri Lanka dismissed Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman cheaply to put the pressure back on the Pakistani team. Mohammad Rizwan played yet another anchor's innings for the Men in Green, scoring 55 off 49 balls. However, due to the lack of support from the other end, Rizwan failed to finish the game for Pakistan. Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage picked four wickets for Sri Lanka, while Hasaranga picked three wickets. 

Image: Twitter