Pakistan made several blunders against India: Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez

All-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez, was left out of the Pakistan World Cup squad due to an injury. He feels that the Pakistan think-tank made several blunders in their defeat against neighbours and arch-rivals India.

He thinks that Pakistan should not have opened with Younis Khan and the team should have included specialist keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed in the playing eleven.

He questioned, “When you have asked for Nasir Jamshed because of his excellent one-day record against India why not play him and why opt for a makeshift opener in such a big match?

“Similarly it was mistake to use Umar Akmal as a wicketkeeper. I would have gone with Sarfaraz Ahmed who is the only specialist keeper in the side.”

Mushtaq Muhammad, a former Pakistan Captain, also criticized the Pakistani team for going into the match without a proper plan.

He said, “It would be useless to say I am really disappointed with Pakistan's performance. This was a very big match and such a good chance to defeat India in a World Cup will not come again until four years. It was sad to see our team go into the match without any proper plan and our bowlers let us down.”

He, however, lavished praise on MS Dhoni and India for picking themselves up after a disastrous tour of Australia.

“It was a very high pressure game and the Indian team responded very well. I felt that after having lost so many times in Australia in the last two months the Indians would be jaded and their players fatigued so Pakistan had the advantage in the World Cup match,” he concluded.