Paceman Wahab Riaz took to Twitter on Wednesday to apologise for his lacklustre performance against arch-rivals India in the Champions Trophy, saying he had “let down his nation”.

Wahab, who has now been ruled out of the rest of the tournament, tweeted Wednesday: “My performance has let down my nation and team. I tried my best but it was not good enough. I'm heart-broken as well.”

The 31-year-old left-arm quick was smashed for 87 runs in just 8.4 wicketless overs when the Asian giants met in their Champions Trophy opener at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground on Sunday.

Title-holders India won by the huge margin of 124 runs in a tournament featuring the world's top eight one-day international sides.

As well as repeatedly bowling too short and too wide, Wahab, a veteran of 79 One Day Internationals, was unable to complete his allocation of overs after suffering an ankle injury while falling over in his delivery stride and was unable to bat in the match.

Pakistan's performance was widely castigated, with former captain Shahid Afridi singling out Wahab for criticism.

“Wahab Riaz was once the spearhead of this bowling attack but his performance was a major let down on such an important occasion,” Afridi wrote in a column for the ICC website.

Pakistan now have to beat South Africa, the world's top-ranked ODI side, in their second Group B match at Edgbaston on Wednesday if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Rumman Raees, a fellow left-arm fast bowler, has been summoned as a replacement for Wahab but Junaid Khan is set to take his place against the Proteas.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.