‘Wasim bhai ke retirement ke baad’: Virender Sehwag takes swipe at Pakistan bowling attack

Pakistan’s campaign at the World Cup 2023 suffered a huge blow after New Zealand clinched a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.

The Babar Azam-led side’s hopes of earning a semi-final spot hinged heavily on a Sri Lankan triumph against New Zealand. But after Sri Lanka’s defeat, Pakistan will now have to beat England by a margin of at least 287 runs to secure a place in the knockout stages.

While achieving such a result is not beyond the realm of possibility, it is undeniably a formidable challenge. Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag, known for his candid remarks, recently took a dig at Pakistan following their diminished semi-final hopes. He shared a ‘Pakistan Zindabhaag’ post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Sehwag’s tweet did trigger a flurry of reactions from Pakistan and it also led to a heated exchange of words between fans from both sides of the border. One fan said that Sehwag was repeatedly troubled by Pakistan bowlers in the past. Another fan was quick to respond, saying that Sehwag had an impressive average of 91 against Pakistan.

Sehwag also took a swipe at Pakistan’s bowling attack. Sehwag said that Pakistan’s bowling performance post-Wasim Akram’s retirement did not meet his standards.

He quoted the fan’s tweet and wrote, “Nahi yaar, Wasim bhai ke retirement ke baad jaise yeh thhey, 200 ki avg honi chahiye tha inke saath. But jo bhi ho , tab bhi aur ab bhi Inke Mazzey lene mein maza aata hai. [No, man. After Wasim bhai’s retirement, the way their bowling attack was, I should have had an average of 200. Anyway, it was fun against them then, and even now].”

Pakistan cricket team’s performance at the World Cup has truly been disappointing this time. Several reports even suggest that Pakistan captain Babar Azam could be asked to step down from his position and a number of new players can be given a chance to stake a claim in the national side.