'They have no idea about what is happening inside' - Saqlain Mushtaq responds strongly to Inzamam and Akhtar's criticism of Rizwan

Pakistan faced a heart-breaking defeat in the finals of the Asia Cup 2022 when they lost the game to champions Sri Lanka. While there were quite a few good points, there were also some flaws pointed out in the players and several former cricketers criticized the Pakistani batters for how they played. One batter, who had most of the comments pointed towards him, was Mohammad Rizwan.

Rizwan, who ended his stint as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, surpassing Virat Kohli by just five runs with his half-century in the finals, scored some good runs in the games, but his scoring rate had been very slow. He took time to pile up runs, and that got Pakistan’s legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar and former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq to share their critical views on Rizwan’s performance.

Saqlain Mushtaq, the head coach of Pakistan, stepped up to defend Rizwan's case, taking a subtle dig at the "experts," saying it's simpler to comment from the outside. “Unki soch hai. Jo bahir log baithe hote hai na wo bahir se cheezon ko dekhte hai aur uske upar baat kar dete hai (It's their thinking, people observe things from outside and pass their remarks on it),” he said at the press conference.

They saw the result, and scorecard and made their comments: Mushtaq

The players on both sides are under pressure during such crucial games. Mushtaq was of the opinion that those watching the game from the outside do not have any idea of what the players are going through during the games. He backed his team and lashed out at the critics who commented upon Pakistan’s performance and the players.

“It’s not their mistake. They saw the result, and scorecard and made their comments. They have no idea about what is happening inside the dressing room, what the players feel about their confidence and the injuries they are carrying. I have worked as an expert for three years. So I know how things work. Once they work closely with the cricketers from inside only then they will get to know about the team bonding, the environment,” he added.