Pakistan captain Shadab Khan has backed his young side despite losing the first T20I of the three-match series against Afghanistan on Friday.
Pakistan fielded a relatively young side, with four debutants, since they have rested many of their senior players for the series.
"This series is for our youngsters. We tried to give them confidence. Sometimes, this can happen due to the nerves of international cricket but we have to back them because they have the talent, and hopefully, they'll show it in the next game,” Shadab said after the match.
“These players are talented and we are sure about that. We should not make someone a star after just one good performance or discard them after one failure. We will back these players and give them full opportunity to perform during the series,” he added.
He also admitted that the batting didn’t live up to expectations during the match.
“Our bowling and fielding was really good but unfortunately our batting was not up to the mark. However, I’m hopeful that these players will step up like they did in the PSL,” he said.
It must be noted that, while chasing a target of only 93 runs, Afghanistan reached home in 17.5 overs for the loss of four wickets.
This was the first win for Afghanistan over Pakistan in international cricket.
Debutant Ihsanullah claimed two wickets in his first over to put the batting side under pressure. However, Afghanistan held their nerve to chase down the target.
Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who finished the match with a six, scored unbeaten run-a-ball 38 with the help of three fours and a maximum.
Earlier, after a brilliant bowling display by Afghanistan, Pakistan were restricted to 92-9 in 20 overs. This was Pakistan's lowest total after batting full 20 overs in T20Is. Previous was 96-9 vs Australia in 2014.
Saim Ayub, middle-order batter Tayyab Tahir and right-arm quicks Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah made their Pakistan debuts during the match.
Meanwhile, top-order batter Abdullah Shafique, all-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim, and Azam Khan marked their returns to the Pakistan side.
The second T20I of the series will be played on Sunday, March 26, at the same venue.