'Jab defend karke jeete do match, tab kyun nahi bheja usko?': Latif's blunt remark on Shaun Tait's explosive PC comment
Rashid Latif had a no-nonsense remark on Shaun Tait's explosive comment in the post-match press conference following Pakistan's heavy loss to England in the sixth T20I.
Pakistan faced a heavy 8-wicket defeat in the sixth T20I against England, as Moeen Ali's men forced a decider in Lahore. The visitors chased down a 170-run target in merely 14.2 overs, with Philip Salt scoring an explosive unbeaten 89 off just 41 deliveries. Babar Azam had anchored Pakistan to 169-6 with an unbeaten 87 off 59 balls. However, Salt’s brutal batting in the powerplay led England to 82-1, the most runs ever conceded by Pakistan in the first six overs.
Following the game, Pakistan's bowling coach Shaun Tait addressed the press conference and spoke about the side's loss in detail. Before the presser, however, he also made a light remark on his presence in the conference. “When we lose badly they send me. They send me when we get beaten badly,” Tait had quipped before the start of the press conference in Lahore.
While it was said in jest, a few from Pakistan cricket fraternity weren't very impressed with Tait's remark. On Rashid Latif's official YouTube channel ‘Caught Behind’, host Nauman Niaz insisted that Tait shouldn't have made such a comment after a heavy loss. “You had the tenacity to say that. Why won't they send you? You're the fast bowling coach," Niaz stated.
However, Latif defended Tait, insisting that he should also have been sent when Pakistan won while defending the targets in 4th and 5th T20I in Karachi and Lahore respectively.
“Baat theek ki usne. Jab jeete the do match me, usme kyun nahi bheja? Main saath me khada hu uske. Usko express karna chahiye (He said the right thing. When we won two matches, why wasn't he sent? I stand beside him. He should express his emotions),” Latif replied.
“Jab uski coaching me 145 chase nahi karne diye, jab uski coaching ne 166 defend kar diya Karachi me, uss vaqt kyun nahi bheja? Uss vaqt toh uska idea tha na? Uss vaqt toh aa gaye (coach) (Under his coaching, we also defended 145 and 166. Why wasn't he sent then? On those occasions, the coach came),” Latif further said.
The decider of the series between Pakistan and England will be played on Sunday night in Lahore.
