Legendary Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has shamefully defended his son-in-law and star all-rounder Shadab Khan over his poor performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Instead, Mushtaq blamed the Pakistan head coach, Mike Hesson, for Shadab Khan’s poor performances.
Pakistan crashes out of T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to secure big win over Sri Lanka
The Pakistan National Cricket Team has found itself in a big storm after being knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026. The Men in Green needed a big 65-run win against Sri Lanka to stay alive in their final Super 8 match, but they could manage only a narrow 5-run victory.
That small margin ended their T20 World Cup 2026 journey and left the former cricketers and fans shocked and angry. Many fingers are now pointing at Shadab Khan. The all-rounder leaked 33 runs in just two overs. With the bat, he could score only 7 runs at No. 4 against Sri Lanka.
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Saqlain Mushtaq defends Shadab Khan, blames Mike Hesson for poor show
Still, Shadab’s father-in-law, Mushtaq, has strongly backed him. Saqlain believes that Shadab was not used in the right way and too much was expected from him by the coach, Hesson. The former coach has openly claimed that the national team management made technical mistakes in handling key players, including his son-in-law, during pressure moments.
Saqlain Mushtaq said on the live TV show, “There are two types of all-rounders—bowling all-rounders, batting all-rounders, and one pure all-rounder. As far as I understand, they were demanding both batting and bowling from him.”
When he was asked about Shadab’s bowling performance, the former Pakistan head coach said, “What is the performance of Mitchell Santner? If I am getting it right, you are saying that… How many wickets has Axar Patel taken? What I am saying is that I think Mike Hesson demanded too much from him in both batting and bowling and did not use him properly.”
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Mushtaq slams Mike Hesson
Targeting Hesson, the legendary spinner said, “His utilization… He wants both batting and bowling. And when I was head coach, the information given to me by the selection committee was that he is equally good in both batting and bowling. But your utilization should be right. If his utilization was right, the value of the things could have been better.”
He signed off by saying, “Like, today, Naseem was given the 3rd over. Which was wrong. Similarly, Shadab Khan was given the 3rd over. That was also wrong. There were technical errors.”
Saqlain Mushtaq said, “Mike Hesson didn’t use Shadab properly and demanded too much from him in both batting and bowling. look at how many wickets Axar Patel or Santner took? it’s not Shadab’s fault, it’s the coach’s fault for not using him properly.” pic.twitter.com/S8Lmwi18zU
— Salman. (@TsMeSalman) February 28, 2026
Shadab Khan’s T20 World Cup 2026 ends in disappointment
Speaking about Shadab Khan’s T20 World Cup 2026 performance, the Pakistan all-rounder has seen ups and downs in the tournament. He made history by becoming the first Pakistani player to complete 1000 T20I runs and 100 wickets. He also played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 36 and scalped three wickets against Namibia to help Pakistan reach the Super 8 stage.
But overall, his numbers did not match expectations. In six matches, Shadam amassed only 118 runs and took just five wickets. This show was not enough in such a big tournament. In big matches against India, England, and Sri Lanka, he failed to make any impact.
