Pakistan’s great spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has shamefully defended his son-in-law and star all-rounder Shadab Khan over his poor performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Instead, Mushtaq blamed Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson for Shadab Khan’s poor performance.
Pakistan out of T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to get big win over Sri Lanka
The Pakistan national cricket team is caught in a big storm after being ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2026. The Men in Green needed a massive 65-run win against Sri Lanka to survive in their final Super 8 match, but they could only manage a modest 5-run win.
That small margin ended their T20 World Cup 2026 journey and left former cricketers and fans shocked and angry. Now many fingers are being pointed at Shadab Khan. The all-rounder gave away 33 runs in just two overs. In batting, he could score only 7 runs at number 4 against Sri Lanka.
Also read: Pakistani spinner retires after early exit from T20 World Cup
Saqlain Mushtaq defends Shadab Khan, blames Mike Hesson for poor performance
Nevertheless, Shadab’s father-in-law Mushtaq has strongly supported him. Saqlain believes that Shadab was not used properly and coach Hesson had very high expectations from him. The former coach has openly claimed that the national team management made technical mistakes in handling key players, including his son-in-law, in moments of pressure.
“There are two types of all-rounders – a bowling all-rounder, a batting all-rounder and a pure all-rounder. As far as I understand, they were demanding both batting and bowling from him,” Saqlain Mushtaq said in a live TV show.
When asked about Shadab’s bowling performance, the former Pakistan head coach said, “How is Mitchell Santner’s performance? If I am understanding it correctly, you are saying… how many wickets has Axar Patel taken? What I am saying is that I think Mike Hesson demanded too much from him both batting and bowling and did not utilize him properly.”
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Mushtaq criticized Mike Hesson
Taking aim at Hesson, the great spinner said, “His usage… he wants both batting and bowling. And when I was the head coach, the information that the selection committee gave me was that he is equally good at both batting and bowling. But your usage has to be right. If his usage was right, the value of things could have been better.”
He concluded, “Like, today Naseem was given the third over. Which was wrong. Similarly, Shadab Khan was given the third over. That was also wrong. There were technical errors.”
Saqlain Mushtaq said, “Mike Hesson did not use Shadab properly and demanded too much from him both with batting and bowling. Look how many wickets Axar Patel or Santner took? It is not Shadab’s fault, it is the coach’s fault that he did not use him properly.” pic.twitter.com/S8Lmwi18zU
-Salman. (@TsMeSalman) 28 February 2026
Shadab Khan’s T20 World Cup 2026 ends on a disappointing note
Talking about Shadab Khan’s T20 World Cup 2026 performance, the Pakistan all-rounder has seen ups and downs in the tournament. He created history by becoming the first Pakistani player to complete 1000 T20I runs and 100 wickets. He also played a match-winning inning of 36 not out and took three wickets against Namibia to help Pakistan reach the Super 8 stage.
But overall, his numbers did not match expectations. In six matches, Shaddam scored only 118 runs and took just five wickets. This show was not enough in such a big tournament. He failed to make any impact in the big matches against India, England and Sri Lanka.
