AUS vs PAK: Misbah-ul-Haq Suggests Usama Mir To Replace Out-Of-Form Shadab Khan In Playing XI

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq suggested a change in the Babar Azam-led team’s playing XI for their upcoming game against Australia. Misbah-ul-Haq expressed concerns about Shadab Khan’s confidence in his bowling, especially in the recent match against India.

The Men in Green suffered a crushing 7-wicket defeat against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, October 14. Shadab Khan failed to make an impact both with the bat and the ball. Shadab scored two runs and went wicketless with an economy rate of 7.80.

Mohammad Nawaz Is Still Bowling Well – Misbah-ul-Haq

Speaking to a local sports show, Misbah-ul-Haq highlighted that Mohammad Nawaz is performing better than Shadab Khan in both batting and bowling in recent matches. Misbah proposed considering Usama Mir for the next game against Australia.

“I think Nawaz is still bowling well [as compared to Shadab], if you see his performance from the last 2-3 matches, he is batting with confidence. However, Shadab, even if you look at today’s bowling [against India] he didn’t have that confidence to land the ball at the right place,” Misbah said.

“When you are playing T20 cricket [for a long time] and you have to play 50-over cricket suddenly, it gets difficult. If you have all these problems, then you have a bowler in your squad in Usama Mir, and it’s time you go for him,” he added.

The Babar Azam-led team will lock horns with Australia at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, October 20. Usama Mir has yet to play a game in the ongoing World Cup. Shadab has bagged two wickets in three matches at a dismal average of 65.50 thus far.

Every Game Has Become A Do-Or-Die Contest – Misbah-ul-Haq

The former Pakistan skipper emphasized the high stakes of the remaining matches for Pakistan, describing each game as a do-or-die situation.

“The situation is now that every game has become a do-or-die contest,” Misbah further added.

The Pakistan team has won two out of three matches in the tournament so far. They began the tournament with consecutive victories before facing a defeat against India. They currently hold the fourth position in the 10-team points table with a total of four points.

Also read: PAK vs NED: Misbah-ul-Haq Makes Shocking Claims On Pakistan’s ODI Ranking, Saying They Achieved No. 1 Rank Facing Weaker Opponents