Pakistan’s bowlers restricted India to a below-average 119 and still held on for six wickets chasing 40 off 35 balls after the dismissal of reliable anchor Mohammed Rizwan, but Pakistan’s extraordinary collapse in the run-chase drew ire from a section of former cricketers, with much of the criticism aimed at a faltering batting unit with their hopes of progressing through the group stage hanging in the balance.
Former captain Wasim Akram did not hesitate in assessing Pakistan’s batting performance. “They have been playing cricket for 10 years but I cannot teach them. Rizwan has no game sense… Iftikhar Ahmed knows one leg-side shot. He has been part of the team for years but does not know how to bat… You cannot talk to Fakhar Zaman about game sense. Pakistan players think that if they do not perform well then nothing will happen to them if the coach is sacked. It is time to retain the coach and change the entire team,” he told Star Sports. He took aim at Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi’s apparently broken relationship. “You have players who do not want to talk to each other. This is international cricket, playing for your country. Make these players sit at home.”
Terrible performance: Waqar
Akram’s fast-bowling brother Waqar Younis also criticised the team’s batting. “Pakistan, if you can’t win this game, what can I say?” Younis was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. “It was a well-deserved win but Pakistan missed it. The performance of the Pakistan batsmen was awful. They had some early combinations but couldn’t see the game through,” Younis said, referring to the period when Babar and Usman Khan played alongside Rizwan.
Nazar criticises ‘pseudo all-rounders’
Mudassar Nazar criticised the team management for the composition of the team and said the players are unable to handle pressure situations. “This team has no substance. The two openers are playing well. The rest are hit and miss. You can’t win big matches with players like all-rounders,” he said on show ‘Caught Behind.’ “You need specialists in pressure situations. You need players with big hearts. Our middle-order, have they ever won a tournament with their batting? They have never won a match for the team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). So, I was hoping they would step up against Bumrah but it’s far from reality.”
Former selection committee members fight back
Former Pakistan cricket selector Mohammed Wasim had appeared on television to criticise Babar Azam’s selection as captain and opener, but after being appointed to the selection committee himself, he criticised Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz and others for choosing him for the same role. “You went on television to criticise the board, the captain and the selectors. You said the T20 captain should not be in the team. You took that player and aimed to win the World Cup,” he said on Summer TV. “There were concerns about the preparations. The 15 players were uncertain, we didn’t know the best 11. We didn’t even select reserve players because of internal disputes. What kind of performance did you expect?”
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First uploaded: 06 October 2024 21:53 IST
