Former Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Kamran Akmal said on Thursday that white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan had really needed to adopt a “valiant” approach as the team leader.

Expressing his thoughts on the Samaa Digital programme “Zor Ka Jor,” Akmal said, “If Rizwan will not show bravery being the experienced player, the team will remain confused.”

He lamented the strike rate of the Pakistan batters in the first T20I against South Africa in Durban, saying, “None of the Pakistan batters were having a good strike rate with the exception of Saim Ayub.”

“Unfortunately, our batters had not shown the display, which was expected from them. Pakistan had not utilised the powerplay in a right manner,” he said.

Recalling the ODI series triumph against Australia after 22 years, Akmal said, “No doubt about that Rizwan had done good captaincy against Australia in the ODI series, and the bowlers were brilliant.”

“But here in South Africa in the first T20I, Saim Ayub can be used as the sixth bowler after the departure of Heinrich Klassen, when Sufiyan Muqeem was leaking runs,” he said.

He acknowledged the batting prowess showcased by experienced South Africa batter David Miller, saying, “David Miller had performed brilliantly considering the fact that he had been out of form since the T20 World Cup.

Watch our sports coverage