"Average People Take Average Decisions"- Shoaib Akhtar brutally criticised selectors, coaches and Pakistani players on T20 WC squad

On Thursday, Pakistan announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has almost selected the same set of players that played in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Despite the failure of the middle-order, the selectors have gone with the same batting line-up.

The only changes were that Fakhar Zaman had been left out due to a knee injury and Shan Masood got his maiden T20I call. This selection didn't go down well with many former Pakistani cricketers, and thus, Pakistan faced a lot of backlash on social media.

Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar also came up and slammed the PCB. He tore apart the Chief Selector, Mohammad Wasim, after the squad was announced. In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Akhtar targeted selectors, coaching staff, and some of the players in a ruthless way.

He said, “When the chief selector is average, his decision will also be average. Saqlain(Mushtaq) last played cricket in 2002, I don’t want to say this as he is my friend, but I don’ think he has any idea about T20 cricket. I don’t think this is your forte.”

Speaking of the Pakistan squad for the World Cup, ace pacer Shaheen Afridi made his comeback after an injury, along with Mohammad Wasim Jr. Haider Ali also retained his place in the team, who played his last T20I in December 2021.

Akhtar also spoke about batting coach Mohammad Yousuf and said that he is in the team because if he had been there, Pakistan's batting would have performed well. Then, he called middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed as Misbah Ul Haq part two. The former pacer also criticised Babar Azam and said that Paksitan might get knocked out of the group stage.

He said, "Our captain is also not cut out for this format as he always looks for classic cover drives. He wants to look classic. If this team doesn’t perform, the whole management will be gone, coaches will be gone and even Ramiz Raja will be gone."

Paksitan will play seven T20Is at home against England starting on September 20 and then travel to New Zealand for a tri-series including Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup. The Men in Green will open their tournament against arch rivals India on October 23 at the MCG.