‘Thought youngsters would play with a better strike rate’ - Shadab Khan defends young blood after series loss against Afghanistan

Following the T20I series loss to Afghanistan, Pakistan's stand-in skipper Shadab Khan has admitted that the team thought that the youngsters would play with a better strike and hence were included in the side. He believes that plenty of positives will come in the future. Afghanistan beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second T20I and took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series in Sharjah.

Shadab said that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will be welcomed when they return to the national set-up. The star duo has been rested for the ongoing three-match series against Afghanistan in Sharjah. Instead of them, the team decided to give players with less experience a chance but unfortunately the punt hasn't paid off yet.

"People criticise Babar and Rizwan regardless of whether they perform or not. There is always a sword hanging over them of strike rate. As a nation, we wanted youngsters to come in international cricket, as they were performing in PSL (Pakistan Super League), so we thought they would play with a better strike rate," Shadab said.

“But finally, our nation will realise that experience matters and our seniors didn’t get the respect they deserved considering their performances. So after this series, they will get a lot more respect from media and the nation," he added.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first in the second T20I on Sunday, March 26. After losing three wickets inside the first four overs the Men in Green posted a modest total of 130/6 in their 20 overs. Meanwhile, the Rashid Khan-led side chased down the target with one ball remaining. 

"When you lose three wickets in powerplay, you lose 70 per cent of the games…the young players were nervous. They are playing for the first time for Pakistan, but we have to back them. Our motive for this series was to check out talented young players and we have to back them in the future,” Shadab said.

Earlier, on Friday, Afghanistan made history after beating Pakistan in the first T20I. It was Afghanistan’s first-ever victory over Pakistan in international cricket. The third and final T20I will be played on Monday, March 27.

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