"Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz Think Pakistan Should Drop All-Rounder For Match Against Australia"; "Shadab Khan Should Be Changed"

For the forthcoming ODI World Cup 2023 match against Australia in Chennai, former Pakistani players Shoaib Akhtar and Wahab Riaz are calling for vice captain Shadab Khan to be left off the team.

All-rounder Shadab has only taken two wickets and scored 34 runs in three games during Pakistan's preliminary run in the major tournament. Additionally, the spinner is failing to bowl out his allotted ten overs in every game.

Pakistan was unable to break the curse against hosts in World Cups as they lost to India, their bitter rivals, in their most recent game played in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Pakistan, who has already defeated the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, will take on Australia in a hard match at MA Chidambaram Stadium on a surface that favours spin.

Shadab is unquestionably a very good bowler, but he is having difficulties. Even though Adam Zampa took four wickets against Sri Lanka on Monday in Lucknow, he was unable to place his leg-spin accurately. However, his googlies and sliders landed on target. Regarding Shadab, the cricket team from Pakistan is expecting ten overs from him, not four or six. For this reason, I think he ought to be modified," Malik stated on A Sports.

Wahab Riaz concurred with Malik, saying that Shadab and Mohammad Nawaz shouldn't be in the same starting lineup.

"Shahadab and Nawaz shouldn't play for Pakistan together. Usama Mir is preferable to either of those two in my opinion. Pakistan has developed an obsession with all-rounders, but in the absence of performance from our pacers, we haven't been able to identify who our strike bowler is. Wahab Riaz told PAK Skills, "You have to have bowlers who give you wickets."

Misbah-ul-Haq, a former captain of Pakistan, stated that Abrar Ahmad, a mystery spinner who is travelling with the team as a reserve player, deserves an opportunity.

"Abrar ought to participate. He bowled in the powerplay in the PSL. Unlike a bilateral series, a team will only play you once in the tournaments. He ought to have been given a chance to play in the World Cup and might have been a mystery bowler, he told A Sports.