Pakistan cricketer apologizes to fans after Ramiz Raja's 'ants in pants' criticism

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris has apologized to fans after his poor performance in the recently-concluded Afghanistan T20I series which Pakistan lost. In the three matches played at Sharjah, Haris scored only 22 runs. His performance was also criticized by former cricketer Ramiz Raja.

“Dear my nation. Not the result we wanted. I am responsible as I did not provide a good start for my team. Really sorry but we will learn from this experience and come back stronger,” Haris wrote in a Twitter post.



Pakistan, which had rested some frontline players, including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, struggled with the bat during the series which they lost by 1-2 margin at Sharjah.

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja believes Haris is a very talented player and has the capability of single-handedly taking away a match but needs to work on his temperament. "He always in a hurry and can't remain calm until he plays an outrageous shot. He has a ants in pants problem. He is always ready to play a outrageous shot,” Raja said on his YouTube channel.

Ramiz Raja however pointed out that the performance of Pakistan fast bowlers Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah Khan were some of the positives from the series.

Ramiz Raja also said that resting key players for the Afghanistan costed Pakistan badly as the loss will dent their confidence.

All-rounder Shadab Khan led the Pakistan side against Afghanistan in the absence of regular skipper Babar Azam who has been rested along with several other senior players. Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi were also rested as the PCB looks to manage their workloads with one eye on the T20 World Cup next year.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan hailed the team's maiden T20 victory against Pakistan but said their front-line batters need to improve ahead of the 50-overs World Cup in India later this year.

"From now on, we need to put effort day by day and game by game, so that by the end of the year, when we go for the World Cup, we'll have a fully prepared squad," he said.