Waqar sees Afridi’s decision to go up in batting order as wrong

ISLAMABAD (ANN):Former Pakistan pacer, Waqar Younis, has termed Lahore Qalandars’ Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision as ‘wrong & poor’ to promote himself in the batting order in the first playoff match against Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

Qalandars were bowled out for a mere 76 runs in response to Rizwan-led Sultans’ target of 161 runs.

Shaheen, who is primarily known for his bowling skills, has been promoting himself in the batting order throughout this year’s PSL.

In the qualifier match, he came to bat at number five when Qalandars were already struggling with a score of 19-3.

Waqar, who was commentating during the match, expressed his disapproval of Lahore Qalandars skipper’s decision and called it “wrong.”

“It’s totally a wrong decision to promote yourself in batting when you already have proper batters left,” the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out as quoted by cricketpakistan.com.pk.

Waqar emphasised that Shaheen’s decision to promote himself in a crucial game like this, when proper batters were left in the team, was poor.

The former pacer suggested that Sikandar Raza and other established batsmen should have been sent ahead of Shaheen.

“It’s like giving a new ball to someone else than Shaheen. How will he feel then? I think Sikandar Raza and others were there to bat; you can’t take such a decision in a big game like this,” he said.

Shaheen’s promotion in the batting order did not yield any positive results, as he went out for a duck after facing just two balls. After his dismissal, Qalandars were reduced to 28-4 and never recovered from there, ultimately getting bowled out for 76 runs.

Lahore Qalandars would now compete in Eliminator 2, which was scheduled to take place on March 17 at Lahore. The winner of the Eliminator 2 would face Multans Sultans in the final on Sunday.