Former Pakistan skipper Salim Malik, while discussing the team’s loss to India at the T20 World Cup 2024, accused Imad Wasim of deliberately wasting balls. Chasing an underwhelming 120-run target, Pakistani batters consumed 59 dot balls to be restricted to 113 for 7 in New York on Sunday. Wasim took 23 balls to score his 15 runs in the losing cause. “You look at his (Wasim) innings and it appears as if he was wasting balls not scoring runs and making things difficult in the run-chase,” Malik said on 24 News channel.

“He [Imad Wasim] made sure he doesn’t get out and keep bettering his batting average. If I’m a batter and I’m not getting runs then I would try taking risk, no matter if I get out. But he kept on eating up deliveries and then changed the ends with singles,” Malik said.

“Imad Wasim didn’t get to play much cricket since the last PSL. Shadab Khan, who scored 40-odd against the USA in the last game, shouldn’t have been promoted up the order. Sorry, but I would like to question why he [Imad Wasim] was promoted up the order, given that he hadn’t got enough chances before [the World Cup]. The batter should at least have tried something instead of playing dot balls,” he added. 

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has critiicised the comments.

Adam Gilchrist finding it ironic that a convicted fixer like Saleem Malik is accusing Imad Wasim of “underperforming deliberately” against India.

Pakistani ex-cricketers are international embarrassment pic.twitter.com/qYSW5AnjBT

— yang goi (@GongR1ght) June 11, 2024

“A bunch of ex-Pakistan cricketers haven’t missed their teams, at all. You go through socials and general commentary. I mean Saleem Malik, of all people…I’m just reading the comments and paraphrasing, and I haven’t heard him say, but had I heard him, it wouldn’t have been to my benefit because it was in Urdu. He basically accused Imad (Wasim) of chewing up deliveries on purpose to make it a bit more interesting. Now I don’t know if there are other accusations which come with that,” he said with a smile of sarcasm.

“Then we have Shoaib, who seems to have a tweet ready, every time they play.”