Former Pakistani captain Aamir Sohail has blamed experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi for Pakistan's first ODI loss to South Africa in the UAE, saying that Afridi's 'irresponsible shot' had gifted the game to the South Africans.
South Africa snatched a one-run victory in the opener of the one-day series following an embarrassing collapse by Pakistan on Wednesday.
According to The Dawn, although Sohail held all the batsmen responsible for Pakistan's disappointing show, he put special emphasis on Afridi, saying that even though Afridi had an easy opportunity to win the game for Pakistan, he failed to do so despite the fact that he had played a large amount of international cricket.
Stating that he failed to see the logic behind Afridi's shot selection, Sohail also said that Afridi should have realised what his responsibility was when he went for a big shot while Pakistan was needing 7 to 8 runs on more than 40 balls, instead of giving the game away to the hands of South African David Miller.
Agreeing with Sohail, former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz also held Afridi, a veteran of 363 ODIs, responsible for Pakistan's defeat, saying that the all-rounder needs to be 'rested' now, and adding that except for Misbah-ul Haq, all the other batsmen are in the team for nothing.
Pakistan will play its next ODI against South Africa on November 1, the report added.