BULAWAYO: Former Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan heavily ctiticised Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy during the final T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe that took place here at Queens Sports Club on Thursday.
Defending a modest 133-run target, Pakistan bowlers did well after conceding 70 runs in the first nine overs as they stopped the flow of runs with regular strikes in the middle overs.
As a result, Zimbabwe had been reduced to 121/7 and needed 12 runs from the final over, with debutant Tinotenda Maposa and Tashinga Musekiwa on strike.
Pakistan’s stand-in captain Agha handed the ball to young all-rounder Jahandad Khan to bowl the final over, preferring the youngster over 'experienced' Mohammad Hasnain.
The left-arm pacer was hit for a four, followed by a six on the first two deliveries of the decisive over and eventually could not defend the total for his side.
Agha’s decision to pick Jahandad for the final over did not sit well with former pacer Junaid, who argued Hasnain was the better choice to bowl the nerve-testing over, highlighting the latter’s experience.
“Poor captaincy, if Hasnain had overs left, he should've bowled the last over as he is more experienced rather than giving it to a youngster,” Junaid Khan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Meanwhile, Agha, during the post-match presentation, expressed satisfaction with his individual performance in the recently-concluded series.
“I would have liked to score more runs but yeah I'm happy I'm contributing with bowling and as captain,” said Agha.
- Junaid Khan
- Salman Ali Agha
