Pakistan legend Wasim Akram’s analysis and unfiltered remarks on the A Sports talk show, ‘Pavilion’ has been garnering huge attention since last year. The show was a massive hit during the ICC World Cup 2023 and it’s back again, with a star-studded panel to discuss and dissect the games of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024.
IND vs ENG 5th Test Day 2 Live
On Wednesday, Akram took potshots at Lahore Qalandars’ Abdullah Shafique for his gesture after taking a sharp catch to dismiss Islamabad United all-rounder Imad Wasim in the second innings at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Islamabad were in a dire situation while chasing 163, having lost four batters at a score of 32 in just 5.4 overs. The final delivery of the over was a fuller one from David Wiese which tempted Wasim to go for a drive but the all-rounder edged it to Shafique, stationed at the first slip as a substitute fielder.
Shafique dived to his right and took a brilliant catch but his action seemed to have irked the experts present at the A Sports Show. The Pakistan cricketer got up after pouching the ball and put a finger on his lips, gesturing to silence the critics.
Responding to his actions, Akram recalled Shafique’s fielding goof-ups and dropped chances during the Australia tour in December 2023 which cost Pakistan the Test series 0-3.
“Jo 36 catch Australia mein chhod kar aaye uska kaun jawab dega (Who is answerable to those dropped catches in Australia?),” questioned Akram.
“Brilliant catch indeed. But someone tell him, cricket chhado te aake drame wich kamm karo (Leave cricket and work in some drama company). He should speak about the catches he dropped in Australia if he wants to silence the critics by putting his fingers on his lips, or whatever it was…,” he added.
Meanwhile, former batter Azhar Ali, one of the panel members, suggested that Shafique probably made the gesture out of frustration as he was benched for 5 out of 8 matches so far.
“It [the gesture] might be out of frustration as he got just three matches so far in this season,” Ali said.
Shafique’s horrendous outings in Australia
The Pakistan cricketer suffered severe backlash for his buttery hands in the 3-match Test series Down Under. He dropped David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in the second Test at the MCG. His poor performance on the field led to criticism from former Australia captain Mark Waugh who was present in the commentary box.
Following the drop, Waugh stated it was like “a crocodile jaw trying to catch the ball.”
Lahore Qalandars eliminated
Lahore Qalandars became the first team to get eliminated from the ongoing season of the PSL. They could manage just 1 win in 8 games (6 losses, 1 game abandoned due to rain) and are currently the bottom-placed team with just 3 points.
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