Akhtar laments lack of support for Babar

Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar , in a video on his Youtube channel, expressed his disappointment over Pakistan's seven wicket defeat in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia, however, he lauded skipper Babar Azam for fighting a lone battle.

Babar scored 38-ball 50 in the second T20I after playing an unbeaten 59-run knock in the first match which was washed out by the rain.

"I feel disappointment for Pakistan and especially for Babar who played superb in both T20s," said Akhtar. "There is currently no batsmen who can take charge like Babar."

“I am saddened that Babar’s efforts went in vain,” he added.

The Rawalpindi Express also added that the Men in Green failed to benefit from a perfect batting pitch.

 “The ball was coming on good but Pakistani openers failed to capitalize,” he said. “Haris Sohail, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan lack the maturity of that of Australian batsman Steve Smith,” he said.

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The former cricketer said that fast bowler Mohammad Amir put up a good show but was critical of left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan’s performance.

“Irfan was struggling because of his left leg as he wasn’t making much use of it,” he said. “The management should have thought of Irfan before picking him in the team.”

The former speedster applauded star batsman Smith for his unbeaten 80 which saw the Aussies edge Pakistan by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match T20 series.

“After his comeback, Smith has been scoring tons of runs and has proven that he is a T20 player,” he said.