'Looks like he's here on vacation... Na batting ho rahi, na bowling'

Wasim Akram slammed Bangladesh veteran Mahmudullah for his performance against New Zealand in the Champions trophy game on Monday where Bangladesh tasted defeat by five wickets.

Mahmudullah was out for four runs after facing 14 balls in the first innings. He threw away his wicket against Michael Bracewell after going for a big shot and not managing to connect. The ball landed in the hands of Will O’Rourke.

To make matters worse, he also spilled an easy catch of Rachin Ravindra at mid on on 105. He did redeem himself with a run out of Tom Latham, but by then, the matter was already put to bed.

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While talking about Bangladesh’s effort in the field, where they were sloppy, Akram said: “Would you call them unlucky?”

Then training his gun on Mahmudullah: “That was a sitter! Mahmudullah lagda hai chhuti de aaya hai (Mahmudullah looks like he has come here on vacation). Na batting ho rahi, na bowling (He’s unable to bat or bowl),” said Akram about the spilled catch.

He added: “This is a learning curve for Bangladesh cricket. They’ve brought guys like Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim who are 39 and 37 years old. Prepare young players for white ball cricket and let these veterans play red ball if they want to do it. White ball cricket is about fearlessness. This is what Bangladesh needs to think about, preparing a team for next year’s T20 World Cup.”

The pace bowling legend heaped praise on youngster Nahid Rana, who managed to get the wicket of Kane Williamson in the fourth over after inducing an edge with his pace.

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“I saw Rana bowling for the first time. Look at the ball he bowled to Williamson… look at the pace, the carry, the swing of the delivery. Zabardast! I like the celebration too. Hardly any. Sometimes youngsters go overboard with their celebrations,” said Akram.

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