Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan is bowled out by India’s Jasprit Bumrah during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Sunday, June 9, 2024. (AP/PTI)
After their bowlers restricted India to a below average total of 119, and they had six wickets in hand while chasing 40 runs from 35 balls even after their trusted anchor Mohammad Rizwan departed, Pakistan’s extraordinary collapse in the run chase drew the ire of some of the former cricketers. Much of the criticism has been directed at the faltering batting department as their hopes to advance through the group stages hang by a thread.
Akram tears into batting
Former captain Wasim Akram did not hold back in his assessment of Pakistan’s batting performance. “They have been playing cricket for 10 years, and I can’t teach them. Rizwan has no game awareness… Iftikhar Ahmed knows one shot on the leg side. He has been a part of the team for years but doesn’t know how to bat… I can’t go and tell about the game awareness to Fakhar Zaman. Pakistani players think that if they don’t perform well, the coaches will be sacked, and nothing will happen to them. It is time to keep the coaches and change the entire team,” he said on Star Sports. He took aim at the apparently fractured relationship between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi: “There are players who don’t want to talk to each other. This is international cricket, and you play for your country. Make these players sit at home.”
Horrible performance: Waqar
Akram’s pace twin Waqar Younis took aim at the team’s batting as well. “Pakistan, if you can’t win this game, what should I say?,” he was quoted as saying by AP. “This was given to you on a plate and Pakistan really spilled it. It was horrible performance by the Pakistan batters. There were a few partnerships in the beginning but they couldn’t really finish the game,” he added, referring to stints of Babar and Usman Khan alongside Rizwan.
Nazar slams ‘pseudo-all-rounders’
Mudassar Nazar took aim at the team management due to their team composition, and spoke about how their players are unable to deal with pressure situations. “There is no substance in this team. Two openers, they play well. Then it is hit and miss. You can’t win big games with pseudo all-rounders,” he said on the show ‘Caught Behind.’ “In pressure situation you need specialists. We need people with big heart. The middle order of ours, have they ever won us a tournament with the bat? They have not even won matches for their franchise in Pakistan Super League (PSL). Then we were expecting them against Bumrah, that they will stand up, we are living far from the reality.”
Former selector strikes back
Former Pakistan cricket team selector Mohammad Wasim took aim at the likes of Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz, who came on television and criticised the selection of Babar Azam as captain and opener, but have gone ahead and picked him to the same role when made selectors themselves. “You sat on TV and criticized the board, captain, and selectors. You said the T20 captain should not even be in the team. You’ve taken that player and gone to try to win a World Cup,” he said on Samaa TV. “There were concerns over preparations, 15 was uncertain, you don’t know your best 11. You haven’t taken reserves because of infighting. How were you expected to perform?”
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