Following a second loss against Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 series, former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur backed young cricketers — Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, and Mohammad Haris — who couldn’t perform well.
During the second match, left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi took the wickets of Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, both for zero runs, in the first over, leading to an awful defeat for the Green Shirts against the neighboring country.
Meanwhile, Haris could score only 15 for 9 before being sent to the dugout.
For Pakistani supporters, the team’s overall performance in the T20I series has been disappointing and has drawn a lot of criticism.
However, Arthur believes that although the three young players’ talent is obvious after they proved it in league cricket, international cricket includes other responsibilities as well.
“Groom them, give them time, and allow them opportunities to bat with experienced players and they will come through,” Arthur wrote on Twitter.
It should be stated that in the current three-match series against Afghanistan, young players have been given a chance. Shadab Khan, a Pakistani all-rounder who is captaining the team instead of Babar Azam, had stated: “This series is for our youngsters. We tried to give them confidence.”
Khan noted that players may not always perform due to the stress of international cricket, but we should support them after the loss in the first game, Afghanistan’s first win against Pakistan in international cricket.
He further stated that a player should neither be made a star after just one good performance nor be discarded after one failure.
