Rashid Latif takes a dig at Pakistan opener

Former Pakistan cricketer, Rashid Latif, recently took a veiled jab at a Pakistan opener on a local media channel. While he did not mention the opener's name explicitly, social media users speculated that he was referring to Ahmad Shahzad, considering the context and the player's recent prominence on social media platforms.

In the video, Latif highlighted the prevalence of PR campaigns on social media, specifically mentioning one particular opener who possesses a very low strike-rate in ODIs, which stands at approximately 70. He expressed his observation that despite this fact, some individuals are actively promoting and supporting this player.

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“You see a lot of things on social media, which includes PR campaigns running [for players]. These days, a PR campaign is running for one particular opener, who has the lowest strike-rate in ODI cricket of around 70. But people are propping him up. We don’t counter them on media because they are also players like us,” Latif said.

Ahmed Shehzad I think ...his SR is 70+ in ODI

— Mariya Rajput (@mariya_raj10) June 23, 2023

The speculation surrounding Shahzad arises from his recent presence in batting practice videos circulating on social media platforms. Furthermore, his ODI strike-rate of 72.08 aligns with the context provided by Latif.

In response to the criticism directed towards him, Shahzad defended his lower strike-rate during a local YouTube podcast. He attributed his relatively low strike-rate to the majority of his cricket being played in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, where conditions are often deemed more challenging for batsmen. However, with the return of international cricket to Pakistan, Shahzad suggested that national players now have the opportunity to play on home grounds, which could potentially allow them to enhance their statistics.