Asia Cup 2022: Wasim Akram lashes out at broadcasters for messing up Pakistan's playing XI after toss

Pakistan’s cricket veteran Wasim Akram was annoyed at the broadcasters, on Sunday, for showing the incorrect starting XI for Pakistan before the crucial Asia Cup 2022 encounter against India at the Dubai International Stadium. It happened after India won the toss while facing Pakistan for the first time since the disappointing defeat at the T20 World Cup 2021.

The playing combination that Pakistan had chosen pleased Akram, which wasn’t the one shown by the broadcasters. It was the one that Mohammad Yousuf, the team’s batting coach, informed Akram of before the game. But when he observed what the broadcasters had displayed on the television, he was furious to see that Pakistan had chosen Hasan Ali over Shahnawaz Dahani.

“I am very happy with the Pakistan XI. I wanted Shahnawaz Dahani…Hasan Ali is playing, Rauf is playing. I thought Dahani is playing, but obviously, he is not on the team. Guys are you sure this is the playing XI? Obviously, I was wrong. I was told by Yousuf that Dahani is playing. So if the batting coach does not know there is something wrong somewhere,” he said during the pre-match conversation on Star Sports.

A few minutes later, TV host Mayanti Langer informed Akram of the mistake, prompting the former fast bowler to lash out at the broadcasters once more.

“Don’t keep me happy, keep that guy happy who is putting the wrong team out there guys. It’s a big game, it’s not a small mistake. It’s fine now,” he added.

Pakistan’s lower-order batters to the rescue

Speaking of how Pakistan’s innings panned out, the team suffered a major blow when Indian bowlers picked up some early wickets. The batters struggled to put up a decent score initially, and Hardik Pandya’s introduction in the bowling attack made things worse for them.

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who shared an unbeaten opening partnership the last time these two teams met, were both dismissed this time around. India restricted Pakistan brilliantly and the bowlers did the job well, before giving away some runs towards the end. The lower-order batters did a great job to pull back the innings, which helped Pakistan post a defendable target of 148 runs before being dished out.