Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel has lashed out at Pakistan bowlers and feels they have a mediocre bowling line-up. Pakistan posted an under-par score of 241 runs on the board against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday but it was comfortably chased down by India with six wickets and 45 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, Patel highlighted that barring Abrar Ahmed, none of the Pakistan bowlers are bowling well. On Sunday, Pakistan’s pack leader Shaheen Shah Afridi got rid of Indian captain Rohit Sharma with a scorching yorker whereas Abrar Ahmed got rid of Shubman Gill with a jaffa. But apart from that, there was nothing much of note in Pakistan’s bowling innings.
“Let’s accept it. It’s a mediocre bowling line-up. I know we are trying to defend and be respectful to Pakistan, but it is a mediocre bowling unit. Whether you look at Shaheen Shah Afridi, you look at Haris Rauf, you look at Naseem Shah, there is only Abrar who has been bowling decently,” Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz.
Patel noted that Khushdil Shah and Salman Ali Agha don’t have the skills to provide the required support in the middle overs.
“If you are saying that Khushdil Shah will give you 10 overs in a One-Day game, that will obviously be a mistake. And when you are expecting Salman Ali Agha to give you that support, that suggests to me that Pakistan does not have those bowlers,” he added.
Shaheen Afridi conceded 74 runs in the eight overs he bowled and gave away his runs at an economy rate of 9.20. Patel feels Pakistan bowlers haven’t been consistent enough.
“We are talking about a country like Pakistan which does not have a spinner in the playing XI. I mean, the Pakistan team that we used to see or we’ve grown up seeing had a completely different bowling line up than what we are seeing here,” Patel noted in the same discussion.
“You are expecting Shaheen Shah Afridi to produce the magic in the big game, he then gives away 74 runs in 8 overs. It’s not a question about skill, it is about performing time and again. These guys are not consistent enough. You talk about Haris Rauf being hot and cold, but he is more cold than hot. That’s the harsh reality. First, accept the problem, and then look to address it. I don’t think they are accepting it right now,” he elaborated.
The Men in Green will next take on Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Thursday.
