Saqlain Mushtaq no traitor, says Shahid Afridi
PHOTO COURTESY: TWITTER/ ENGLAND CRICKET
After Pakistan's victory at Lord's, the hosts sought the former off-spinner for the second Test to help them fathom the threat of leggie Yasir Shah. The inventor of ‘doosra’ was also meant to tactically assist Moeen Ali with his off-spin. However, this did not settle with most Pakistanis.
Unable to comprehend how he would assist England against his own country, many took to Twitter to call Saqlain Mushtaq a 'traitor'. However, former and current Pakistan players were quick to rise in the former off-spinner's defence.
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Former T20I captain Shahid Afridi called people to ‘respect’ the former Pakistan spinner for his "job as a coach" and not label him as a ‘traitor’.
Further, former captain Muhammad Yousuf said it was "bad shot selection" and not Saqlain who was responsible for Pakistan’s rout at Old Trafford.
Former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood also rose to Saqlain's defence and told his Twitter followers that coaching was Saqlain’s ‘profession’ and the off-spinner is still making Pakistan proud.
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Moreover, former batsman Muhammad Wasim also tweeted in favour of Saqlain.
If all this support wasn't enough, Sana Saqlain, wife of the off-spinner, tweeted a picture of Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq and her husband shaking hands with the caption, "What a beautiful way to end the match... with smiles'.
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Moeen, who managed only two wickets in the first Test, was able to account for five batsmen in the second match to play his part as England levelled the series by defeating Pakistan by 330 runs. The 29-year-old English spinner said he ‘loved’ working with Saqlain for he was a "great coach and a great guy".
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Here are a few reactions from Twitterati in support of Saqlain.