World Cup 2023, AUS vs PAK: Pakistan drop vice-captain after huge defeat to India, Waqar Younis backs call
Cricket World Cup 2023: Pakistan went on to drop their vice-captain Shadab Khan for the big-ticket clash against Australia in Bengaluru on Friday. Usama Mir replaced the senior spinner.
Pakistan made a big call ahead of their 4th World Cup 2023 match in Bengaluru as they dropped their vice-captain Shadab Khan against Australia on Friday, October 20. The leg-spinner who has been going through a lean patch, picking up only 2 wickets in the first 3 matches of their World Cup campaign.Â
The decision comes days after Pakistan were hammered in a one-sided outing in their big-ticket World Cup 2023 match against India in Ahmedabad. Pakistan brought in another leg-spinner in Usama Mir, who made his World Cup debut in Bengaluru on Friday.Â
AUS vs PAK, World Cup 2023 Updates
Shadab Khan's place in the side has been under the scanner since his underwhelming performances in the Asia Cup campaign in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. However, the team management backed him for the World Cup and he continued to be Babar Azam's deputy.Â
As it turns out, Pakistan have been pushed to make the call to drop their vice-captain Shadab Khan for their big clash against Australia, which might be defining, especially for their momentum in the World Cup.Â
Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis backed the decision, saying it made sense to give an opportunity to Usama Mir, whom he believes will extract a bit from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch.
"Yes, when you are not bowling well, it makes a lot of sense. There is no harm in bringing a young player to the side. Usama Mir is another leg spinner, he has a good googly, he is tall and gets extra bounce. Ths surface might help him, he may not get much spin of the surface. But the extra bounce might help," Waqar told Star Sports.Â
Notably, Babar Azam confirmed that it was a tactical decision to leave out Shadab Khan, who went wicketless against India in their big-ticket match in Ahmedabad.Â
AUS vs PAK, World Cup 2023 XIs
Pakistan (PLAYING XI) - Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usama Mir (IN FOR Shadab Khan), Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.
Australia (PLAYING XI) - David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
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