Abdullah Shafique’s match-losing shot leads to ex-Pakistan cricketer’s shocking career-ending demand

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has lashed out at the opener Abdullah Shafique for his poor shot selection in the second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh. Basit even claimed that Shafique's poor shot cost Pakistan the whole match.

Abdullah Shafique was well set in the second innings of the Test and held one end as the wickets kept falling at the other end. However, in a brain-fade moment, he skipped down the track to a flighted ball from Shakib Al Hasan and tried to hit it over mid-off.

Shakib saw him coming down the track and cleverly pulled his length back. Shafique went through with the shot despite not reaching the pitch of it and skewed it high to backward point where Shadman Islam took an easy catch. It was a soft dismissal from the batter at a crucial point of the match.

Also read: Rashid Latif goes nuclear, attacks Pakistan pacers after loss to Bangladesh: "They’re carrying injuries"

Basit Ali tears apart Abdullah Shafique for his poor shot selection

While speaking on the latest video on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali slammed Abdullah Shafique and stated that the batter should consider himself lucky as he is still there in the team. The former Pakistan batter further mentioned that he would have asked the opener to leave if he was in the Pakistan dressing room.

"Abdullah Shafique is very lucky. Some players are surviving on the basis of the runs scored in the past. If I was in the Pakistani dressing room, I'd have asked Abdullah Shafique to pack his bags and go home. Abdullah Shafique's shot cost Pakistan this match," Basit said.

Basit Ali even slammed Mohammad Rizwan for his bad shot selection in the second innings. Rizwan was the only batter to show some resistance in the second innings alongside Abdullah Shafique.

The wicketkeeper-batter scored a valuable 51 but got out playing a slog across the line to offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

"Mohammad Rizwan played a bad shot after completing his fifty. All the fielders were at the boundary and an easy single was on offer. What was the need to play a cross-batted shot at that time? It's a big thing to get out by playing a bad shot after completing your fifty," he added.

Basit Ali on Pakistan's early declaration

After the defeat, Pakistan's first innings declaration came under the scanner. Shan Masood declared Pakistan's first innings at 448-6, which allowed Bangladesh to come back into the game. Basit claimed that Pakistan were overconfident in their approach which cost them the match.

"In the first innings, was it the right time to declare? You could have let Mohammad Rizwan complete his 200. But they were overconfident. There is a lot of difference between saying things and doing them," Basit Ali stated.

The win came as a huge boost to Bangladesh as they have surged past Pakistan and South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will be aiming to win the second Test of the series to salvage some pride and level the series. The final Test will begin on August 30 and will be played on the same ground.