June 16, 18:15 (IST)
Following Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup, Imad Wasim says the team needs big changes.
“Everything, every aspect. How to approach the match? How to play the match? That’s what I believed, that’s why I came back and worked hard but it didn’t happen,” Wasim, who came out of retirement for the tournament, said of the changes needed to be made to the team.
“The wicket is a little bit tougher than you think and you could say any team can win. Nepal were close to winning so a lot can happen but I think we can change our approach, how we play the game and all the players are keen to change that because this loss was a real blow for us,” he said.
Wasim said the key change that is needed is in the mentality of the game.
“I am just stating my personal opinion. Please stop making headlines like this. It all depends on your mindset. What mindset do you want to go into the game with? Either fight fire with fire or play your own way.”
“So I personally believe you should fight fire with fire and even if you lose, you can just sit back and tell yourself we weren’t good enough that day,” he said.
“The thing is, our team is so good and our players are so good that we are good enough to play any kind of cricket, so we have to get rid of that fear of failure mentality.”
“We have to get rid of the fear of failure in everything, be it batting, pitching or fielding. As I said earlier, changing personnel won’t change anything, but changing your mindset can change a lot,” he added.
“We are competing with the best teams in the world. Their mindset has changed over time. We were dominant in T20 cricket earlier, but I think we have regressed a bit now. If we change the mindset of our players, we can achieve beyond our limits. I have always believed in this.”