(Cricket news) On Wednesday, Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by 1 wicket in a last over thriller. Pakistan and Sri Lanka were confirmed as the two finalists while India and Afghanistan were eliminated. India lost both their Super 4 games in similar fashion in the last over. India's failure to defend runs has been a major concern in this tournament. Ravi Shastri after the match criticised the squad selection saying "I am completely amazed to see how Mohammed Shami has been sidelined by the current Indian team management and the selectors. The Indian bowling hasn’t looked that effective in this year’s Asia Cup and a veteran like Shami should have certainly made it to the squad.

"We saw how due to the presence of dew in the last T20 World Cup, spinners became completely ineffective and hence, he could have been a great choice for the Asia Cup in 2022. Especially, after how his IPL went for Gujarat Titans this year, he should’ve certainly been a part of the think tank," concluded Shastri. He wasn't the only one with this opinion as Shami's absence was criticised as soon as the squad was announced. India had only 3 seamers in the squad out of which Avesh Khan got ill and hence India had to go in with only 2 seamers and Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder. Deepak Chahar has been added to the squad but it is too late now as India have been knocked out.

Shami hasn't played a T20 game since the last World Cup where his performance was a little underwhelming. Since then he bowled incredibly well in the IPL while his performance in Tests and ODIs have never slowed down. Reports said that Shami wasn't considered for T20Is in order to keep him fresh for the other two formats which was understandable until India lost Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah to injury. After losing their two seamers, India could have called back Shami which would have definitely made the squad better. India struggled to pick up wickets in the power play which is where Shami excels. His extra pace would have also been a very big advantage. There is no guarantee that India would have done better with Shami but they definitely wouldn't have done any worse.

Also read: India to face Australia, New Zealand in warm-up fixtures of ICC T20 World Cup