Pakistan were cruising at 91 for 1 in 10 overs in the game against India but in the next five overs added just 28 runs, with Shivam Dube giving just 11 runs for two wickets in two overs in that phase.
Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar identified that phase as the turning point, and placed the onus on team selection and mistakes from coach Mike Hesson and the captain Salman Agha. Akhtar went on to say he would have preferred the batsman Mohammad Nawaz to be selected and another fast bowler or two instead of too many spinners.

But first he turned against the captain. “I am very surprised by the coach (Mike Hesson). As far as the captain, he doesn’t know anything anyways (usko kuch patha nahi hai,) what is he captaining, what is he playing in the middle,” Akhtar told PTV Sports.
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“He is the weakest link of the team. Does he deserve to play in the spot he is playing? No one will discuss this. He is the weakest link in the middle. What does he do? Tell me? HE comes at No.6 and for India, you have Hardik Pandya or Tilak coming there. Karo comparison.
“Good boy is teek hai, fine with me, so captain is fine with me – but what does he produce as a talent?”
Akhtar then said the batsman Hasan Nawaz, who has a strike rate of 158.19 from 22 T20s, should have been selected.
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“First of all the team selection was wrong. From 91 in 10 overs , they could have been 140 by 15th and reached 200. The pitch was so good today. If an established player was playing at that point. Hussain Talat came and slowed down [he made 10 runs from 11 balls]. Then Mohammad Nawaz played 19 balls [made 21 runs] and got run out.
Second, If you had to get Saim Ayub to bowl in the powerplay, get him three overs, then you might as well have picked more fast bowlers. What are they thinking? What’s the process behind team selection – that’s all I want to know. I don’t want to hear anything else. If someone can call me and tell me this is the reason we didn’t pick.”
Shoaib also spoke about the bowling plan of Shaheen Shah Afridi against Abhishek Sharma. Shaheen had started with a bouncer first ball, but on the leg side, which was helped along for a six over fine leg by Abhishek.
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“Bhai, there should have been good solid bouncers at Abhishek from both ends. The first ball should have been from a length, made him come forward, and beat him there. A batsman will get out on the front foot. Bouncers are good for fear. Definitely bowl short, but in this form and his hand-eye coordination usko toh maarna hi tha ( he had to hit). And let me tell you that was a bad bouncer (not a well-directed one). Then you didn’t try the bouncer again after that.
He returned to the team selection: “Wrong decision not to play Hassan Nawaz, he can win matches for you. Or Mohammad Wasim Junior, another player who can win. Today in this game, with the new ball if Hasan Ali had bowled length, I would see how Abhishek would have hit. At least test him (Abhishek) out na. You can’t bowl two short, two full – aise toh nahi hota hai na yaar. Captain doesn’t justify his place in the team and makes wrong decisions on selection – along with the coach. All blame goes to the management.”