• Ahmed Shehzad criticized Pakistan team’s loss to Ireland.
• Babar Azam acknowledges poor bowling and fielding.
• This marked Ireland’s first-ever T20I victory over Pakistan.

Ahmed Shehzad, a Pakistani batter, criticized the Pakistan cricket team following their loss to Ireland in the first T20I at the Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, on Friday.

This marked the first time Ireland triumphed over Pakistan in T20Is, as the two teams had only previously faced off once in this format during the T20 World Cup 2009, where the Green Shirts came out on top.

Following a 2-2 draw in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand last month, Babar Azam, Pakistan’s skipper, explained that they were experimenting with their bench strength, which is why they didn’t win.

Shehzad took to his X, previously known as Twitter, account to question the team’s strategy, implying they were still testing their bench strength.

“I wanted to ask that were they [Pakistan] checking the bench strength even today?” Shehzad posted on X. “Try your strength sometimes.”

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وہ پوچھنا یہ تھا کے آج بھی بینچ سٹرنتھ چیک ھو رھی تھی ؟
سٹرنتھ بھی کبھی آزما لیجیے –
#IREvPAK

— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) May 10, 2024

Earlier in the day, Babar expressed his thoughts after the match, attributing the loss to poor bowling and fielding, stating that the team failed to implement their strategies.

“We didn’t start well in the first 6 overs; the pitch was a bit two-paced and had some bounce. We recovered well after that and got 182 but I think 190 was a par score,” he commented.

“But I think we lost due to the bowling and fielding. We didn’t execute our plans and had some sloppy lapses in the field which cost us,” he concluded.

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