'Agar Rishabh Pant Pakistan me hota, wo kabhi bahar baithta World Cup mein?'
Pakistan faced a shock defeat to Zimbabwe on Thursday at the T20 World Cup, making their chances for semi-final qualification difficult in the tournament. The side had faced a defeat to arch-rivals India in their opening game of the Super 12 stage, and a further loss to Zimbabwe has justifiably left the cricket fraternity in the country frustrated. Even the former cricketers have criticised Babar Azam and Co. for their lacklustre performance across both games, and the side's leading pacer Wahab Riaz is latest to join the list.The Pakistan fast bowler spoke in detail about the lack of squad depth in the cricketing setup in the country. Many former cricketers had earlier registered their disappointment at the underwhelming performance of their middle-order, and Riaz drew a comparison between Pakistan and India, stating how the latter have built their cricketing arsenal over the years.Also read: Virat Kohli stands 28 runs short of breaking 8-year old spectacular record at T20 World Cup“Agar aapka system strong hoga, toh ye baatein nahi hogi. Strong kaun karta hai? Jo hold karta hai. Ek selection ka process ye hai ki chaahe vo Amir ho, ya Umar Gul, ya Shoaib Akhar ya Sohail Tanvir hai, agar aapko criteria diya hai domestic cricket ka... agar usme wo perform karte hain, wo fit hai, toh unko khelna chahiye. (If your system is strong, people won't complain. There should be a selection process; for example, no matter if it's Amir or Umar Gul or Shoaib Akhtar or Sohail Tanvir, if your criteria is to judge domestic performances, you have to see whether they've performed there or not. If they have, and if they are fit, they should play),” Wahab said on 24 News HD.Wahab, then, provided an example from the Indian cricket team to further make his point.“Iska misaal hamaare padosi mulk me hai. Rishabh Pant, India ka best wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni ke baad, jisne England aur Australia me sau kiya. Agar wo Pakistan me hota, wo kabhi bahar baithta World Cup me? Nahi baithta. India ne usko bithaaya, Dinesh Karthik ki jagah. Kyun? Unko pata hai Pant cricketer achha hai, but at that particular number, unko finisher chahiye. 2 chhakke maar lega, par agar match finish nahi karega toh ham haar jaayege. That's the way to go. (I'll give you an example from India. Rishabh Pant is India's best wicketkeeper-batter since Dhoni, he has hundreds in England and Australia. If he was in Pakistan, would he sit outside in a World Cup match? No chance. India kept him out for Dinesh Karthik. They know Pant is a good cricketer, but they also know that they need a finisher. That's the way to go),” Riaz explained.Karthik has played both of India's opening matches against Pakistan and Netherlands so far. India return to action on Sunday in a key Group 2 clash against South Africa.SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
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