T20 World Cup 2022: "IPL teams never say that they don't want to dismiss Virat Kohli" - Danish Kaneria slams Aaqib Javed for his comments on Babar Azam 

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has slammed Aaqib Javed for his comments regarding Babar Azam's ordinary strike rate in T20 cricket.

Javed, who is the director of cricket for Lahore Qalandars, revealed that his team didn't try hard to dismiss Babar when they were defending a stiff total against Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He opined that the right-handed batter tends to take a lot of time in the middle before accelerating.

The comments didn't go down well with Kaneria. Speaking on his YouTube channel on Monday, he suggested that, being a former cricketer, Javed should have avoided making such remarks about the Pakistan skipper. Kaneria said:

"He (Aaqib Javed) has served Pakistan cricket for several years, both as a player and coach. It is not right for someone like him to make such statements. Being a former cricketer, he shouldn't have said that they weren't looking to get Babar Azam out during the PSL.

"It is always critical to get big players out. Why don't we see such statements from IPL franchises? IPL teams never say that they don't want to dismiss Virat Kohli."

Babar has been under the scanner lately for his scoring rate in the shortest format. The right-handed batter struggled for form at the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE, managing just 68 runs from six matches at a strike rate of 107.93.

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"Where else would he play?" - Danish Kaneria on Aaqib Javed suggesting Shaheen Afridi should skip the T20 World Cup 2022

Speaking at a media interaction recently, Javed stated that Shaheen Afridi should consider opting out of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. He suggested that the pace bowler is more important than the World Cup and should not risk making his injury worse.

Kaneria said that this shouldn't be the case, as Babar Azam and Co. will need the premier fast bowler in the marquee T20 event. He opined that Javed was making such statements only to create hype. The former cricketer remarked:

"A World Cup is very important for all the participating countries. Shaheen is Pakistan's ace pace bowler and they need him for the crucial tournament. Where else would he play if he didn't play in the World Cup?

"All preparations are done to ensure that these big players are there for a major event like the World Cup. These are just masala statements to create some kind of hype."

Afridi, who missed the Asia Cup 2022 with his knee injury, is rehabilitating in London. The left-armer is expected to return to cricketing action during the T20 World Cup 2022 next month.