In a surprising turn of events during the recent PSL 9 encounter between Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram voiced his dissatisfaction with Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan. Akram’s discontent stemmed from Shadab’s unexpected decision to bat lower down the order during the match against Multan Sultans, despite his impressive batting performance in the previous game against Lahore Qalandars.
Shadab, who had played a pivotal role in leading Islamabad United to victory against Lahore Qalandars with a quick fifty while batting at number three, surprised many by coming in to bat at number seven in the match against Multan Sultans. His innings yielded only 11 runs in nine balls.
Expressing his disappointment, Wasim Akram questioned the decision, stating, “When you have a captain in good form, scoring 74 in 41 balls in the previous match, why didn’t he come in to bat at three or four?” Akram further expressed concerns about Shadab’s explanation in the post-match press conference, where he cited the pitch difficulty as the reason for his lower-order placement.
“If that’s the case, it means that he will come out to bat early when the pitch is easy but send anyone else if that’s not the case. I hope that was a language barrier,” remarked Akram on a local sports channel.
Despite the captaincy controversy, Multan Sultans secured their second consecutive win at PSL 9, defeating Islamabad United by five wickets at Multan Cricket Stadium. After restricting Islamabad United to 144 in 20 overs, Multan Sultans chased down the target in the final over, propelled by a resilient half-century from Reeza Hendricks.
Scores in Brief:
- Islamabad United: 144 all out, 20 overs (Salman Ali Agha 52, Jordan Cox 41; Mohammad Ali 3-19, Abbas Afridi 3-33, Usama Mir 2-29)
- Multan Sultans: 145-5, 19.5 overs (Reeza Hendricks 58, Mohammad Rizwan 41; Naseem Shah 2-27)
Player of the Match: Mohammad Ali (Multan Sultans)
