Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said that removing Shaheen Afridi from the role of captaincy in T20Is has created problems with the team.
His statement came after Ireland defeated Babar Azam and Co. in the first T20I at the Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin.
"The bowling has been letting Pakistan down since the tour of New Zealand. Since removing Shaheen from the captaincy, problems could be seen," he said on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, he stressed that Babar showed his weakness after accepting the captaincy again.
"Shaheen was removed wrongly from the captaincy and when Babar was reappointed, he showed his weakness. Whoever has handed him the captaincy will definitely use him. The team would be from outside, players will be selected by somebody else and every other decision would be taken by someone else, nothing will change in Pakistan here," he added.
Ireland defeated Pakistan in T20Is as both teams only locked horns once in the shorter format before where the Green Shirts emerged victorious.
Remember, Babar stated poor bowling and fielding as the root cause for the first T20I defeat.
While talking in the post-match presentation, Babar said that the team didn't execute plans.
"We didn't start well in the first 6 overs; the pitch was a bit two-paced and had some bounce. We recovered well after that and got 182 but I think 190 was a par score," he said.
"But I think we lost due to the bowling and fielding. We didn't execute our plans and had some sloppy lapses in the field which cost us," he added.
Scores in brief:
Ireland beat Pakistan by five wickets
Pakistan 182-6, 20 overs (Babar Azam 57, Saim Ayub 45, Iftikhar Ahmed 37 not out, Fakhar Zaman 20, Craig Young 2-27)
Ireland 183-5, 19.5 overs (Andy Balbirnie 77, Harry Tector 36, George Dockrell 24; Abbas Afridi 36)
Player of the match – Andy Balbirnie (Ireland)
Schedule of remaining matches:
2nd T20I – Sunday, 12 May
3rd T20I – Tuesday, 14 May
- Shaheen Afridi
- Babar Azam
