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Former batsman Aamer Sohail has revealed how the staff administration made a mistake in together with Shahid Afridi as an opener in Pakistan’s squad for the 1999 World Cup, claiming the all-rounder again then may ‘neither bowl nor bat’. Sohail, who captained Pakistan in six Tests in 1998 and in 22 ODIs between 1996 and 1998, described how he was extra inclined in direction of making Mohammad Yousuf open the innings for the World Cup however the administration opted for Afridi.
“When I was captain in 1998, we had decided with the selectors that we should have regular openers for the World Cup who can stay at the wicket and play out the new ball,” Sohail mentioned on his YouTube channel.
“Unfortunately, you opted for Shahid Afridi, he had ability on flat low-bouncing tracks where he would take on the bowlers and bring the opposition under pressure. But in demanding conditions, that is a big gamble. He was neither able to bowl nor able to bat. If I was the captain instead of Wasim Akram, I would have preferred Mohammad Yousuf.”
Afridi was a flop within the 1999 World Cup, scoring solely 93 runs in seven innings at a lowly common of 13.28. Despite reaching the ultimate of the 1999 World Cup, Sohail reckons Pakistan performed like a ‘local team’, and that issues may have been so much completely different had the administration been somewhat extra sorted with their determination.
“So, according to me there were two reasons for your loss at the World Cup. One was that your team combination was not correct at all and the other that you opted to bat after winning the toss when you knew that it had been pelting down in London.”
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“From my cricketing experience and my observation, I can say that we played the entire World Cup like a local team. We had one line-up in a match and a different line-up in the next match with changing batting orders.”
As talked about above, Sohail was not a fan of Pakistan opting to bat first after profitable the toss. The Australian bowlers, led by Glenn McGrath’s 2/13 in 9 overs and Shane Warne’s 4/33 had been bowled out Pakistan for simply 132, earlier than Australian chased it down in solely the 21st over to be topped World Champions for a second time.
“Before the World Cup final, there were reports that it had rained a lot in London. As it is, there is a slope at Lord’s due to which the ball does something all the time,” Sohail mentioned. “Salim Malik told me that he had requested Wasim Akram not to bat first after winning the toss else we would be in great difficulty. We should not have exposed our batsmen on a difficult pitch against a confident Australian bowling line-up.
“Salim Malik told me that Wasim Akram had said that we would definitely bowl first after winning the toss. Because our bowling was doing well at that time, we could have restricted the opposition to a low total and lifted the confidence of our batsmen.”
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