Shoaib Akhtar severely criticises Lahore Qalandars for poor show in HBL PSL 5

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has blamed the Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed for his team’s dismal start in the fifth season of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Qalandars, who finished at the bottom of the points table for the past four seasons of HBL PSL, have lost their first three games of ongoing season.

While speaking in a Youtube video, Akhtar said that Aaqib Javed has not drafted the right mix of players required for a successful Twenty20 (T20) side.

“Aaqib Javed is only good at taking trials and spotting talent. He doesn’t understand cricket. He just believes in senseless hitting in T20 cricket,” Akhtar said. “In this past five years, Aaqib Javed has not been able to figure out that you can’t just rely on hitters. You need mature middle-order batsmen. They think that the powerplay is going on till the 20^th over. Their first wicket falls at 60 runs and then the entire team is all out for 100.”

“It is high time to remove the management if they lose this season. Management has not made a good combination. Qalandars have had enough of Aaqib Javed,” he added.

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Akhtar also came down hard on the Qalandars’ aggressive opening duo of Fakhar Zaman and Chris Lynn.

“The person who doesn’t have a brain is Fakhar Zaman. When you have one player [Chris Lynn] who is already playing fast, then Fakhar needs to understand that he can slow down a bit,” he said. “Chris Lynn is not some Viv Richards. Lynn plays well where there is equal bounce like Australia. He is good aggressive player, but you need just one aggressive player like that.”

“Qalandars batting line-up is made up of similar kind of batsmen who just believes in senseless hitting. You can play aggressively and take chances in the powerplay, but in the next 14 overs you need to know how to anchor the innings, take quick singles and then finish well,” he added.

The 44-year-old is not optimistic about Qalandars’ chances this season as he believes it will be a tough task for them to make a comeback.

“Lahore Qalandars is destroying the spirit of the game. If they lose one more game, they will be out of the tournament. The management of Lahore Qalandars is not smart, period. They are repeating the same mistakes for the last five years,” he concluded.