'They don't even know rules' - Shoaib Malik charges Babar Azam and co for subpar outing in 20-20 World Cup

Pakistan are having a 20-20 World Cup to forget as they lost against India in the campaign opener and then went on to lose against Zimbabwe on October 27, Thursday. However, their defeat against Zimbabwe earned them a lot of criticism from former Pakistan cricketers and fans. 

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Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan cricketer, who was frustrated by the loss against Zimbabwe, said that the players need to be aware of the rules first. Commenting on Indian giant Virat Kohli taking 3 runs off a free-hit ball that hit the stumps, Malik said that the Pakistani players first need to understand that it was not a dead ball as they claimed.

For the unversed, Kohli missed a straight ball of a free hit in the final over of the epic clash played on October 23, when India required 5 runs off 2 balls. Eventually, the Indian batter ended up running 3 runs which puzzled the Pakistani cricketers who claimed that it was a dead ball as the ball had hit the stumps. 

Further, the renowned cricketer said that the sepulchral performances from the Babar Azam–led team need to be addressed and also backed the fans who requested to change the entire team set-up. 

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We just try to find short-term solutions: Malik

Slamming the team management for coming up with short-term solutions only, Malik said that they need to address the whole issue and added that the management must not fill in the gaps to get the desired results. 

“They don't know that the ball is not dead when it hits the stumps on a free hit, so leave other things aside. They don't even know this, so talking about which conditions you have to play in, is another matter. We just try to find short-term solutions,” Malik said on A Sports. 

“If there is a leakage in pipe, the permanent solution is to change the pipe. But we try to bridge the gap. You need to change the pipe,” said the cricketer further. It remains to see if the Pakistan team management would take aggressive steps as they are in a position to win the remaining matches. 

And to comment more on their road to the semis, the Men in Green are heavily dependent on India and the Rohit Sharma-led team must win against South Africa to give Pakistan a chance to make it to the next round.