‘Focus on cricket’ – Rashid Latif slams Pakistan team at meet and greet event ahead of T20 World Cup

Pakistan have not been fully prepared for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies. The team goes into the tournament after six months of struggle and instability, having suffered a 2-0 series defeat in England.

While all of their attention should have been focused on preparing for the World Cup, the team had other ideas: A private meet-and-greet session was scheduled with the team ahead of their opening match against co-hosts USA on June 7.

The session, held in Dallas on June 2, charged $25 per person.

The incident did not go down well with former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who slammed the board for creating a distraction.

How can you meet and greet during and before the World Cup? Why? translator Are private dinners allowed? Practice times will be changed to attend commercial dinners. Stay focused on cricket and the money will come automatically. Entry Fee: $25.00 pic.twitter.com/CKJE2GAJhv

— Rashid Latif | 🇵🇰 (@iRashidLatif68) June 4, 2024

“How can I meet you during or before the World Cup?” Latif posted on Twitter. “Practice times will be rescheduled to attend commercial dinners. Focus on cricket and the money will come. Entry fee is $25.”

Pakistan are one of the few teams going into the World Cup without playing any training matches beforehand, with the opening match scheduled to be played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Former World T20 champions Pakistan reached the final in the last tournament, where they lost to England, but the team has struggled in the shortest format of the game since then. They have won just nine of the 24 T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup.

The team has also undergone a leadership change in recent months, with Babar Azam stepping down as captain after a disappointing performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup and being replaced by Shaheen Afridi, but Azam returned to the captaincy just before the T20 World Cup.

The team has been embroiled in allegations of nepotism over the selection of its squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, with Azam Khan’s inclusion in the squad being a particular point of contention. The batting order and whether Azam and Mohammed Rizwan will continue to bat the innings are still under review. Plagued by internal discord and doubt, Pakistan will have many deficiencies to iron out in time for the tournament.

Pakistan Schedule T20 Cricket World Cup 2024