(Source Crictoday)

Pakistan cricket veterans were rendered speechless by Pakistan’s dismal performance against India in the T20 World Cup match, describing it as “horrendous.”

Although chasing 120 was a challenging task, Pakistan appeared to be in a favorable position to replicate their previous success against India in Dubai, this time in New York on Sunday. With Mohammad Rizwan leading the charge, they comfortably reached 80 for three in 14 overs. However, a brilliant display from Jasprit Bumrah and the Indian fast bowlers turned the tide. Pakistan ultimately suffered a six-run defeat in the second T20 World Cup match, casting uncertainty over their campaign.

Wasim Akram, a former Pakistan cricketer, expressed his frustration towards senior players such as Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Fakhar Zaman for their apparent lack of game awareness. Despite their status as champions in 2009, Pakistan could only manage to score 113 for seven in their allotted 20 overs.

“They have been playing cricket for 10 years, and I can’t teach them. Rizwan has no game awareness,” Akram said on Star Sports after the match as he recalled the needless slog that the wicketkeeper-batter went for in Bumrah’s first delivery in the fresh spell. “He should have known that Bumrah was given the ball to take wickets and that the wise thing would have been to play his deliveries cautiously. But Rizwan went for a big shot and lost his wicket.”

“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 added.

The legendary fast bowler also criticized captain Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, disclosing that they have not been communicating since the change in captaincy last month.

“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,” he said.

Shoaib Akhtar, addressing his YouTube audience after the match, expressed bewilderment at Pakistan’s collapse despite being in a position to win. He criticized the middle-order for their failure to handle pressure and apply themselves effectively during the chase.

“Very disappointing. It was a run-a-ball chance for Pakistan. Earlier, India’s middle-order messed it up. They were 80-odd in 11 overs and could have achieved around 160 but couldn’t. But for Pakistan, it was a close chance. Rizwan could have scored another 20 runs and won the game for the team. Sadly, we didn’t apply our brains,” the former fast bowler said. “A lot of things are questionable, their intent, the application… it’s really sad for the team. Pakistan should have won this game. They were pretty much in the game, requiring 46 runs in 47 balls when Fakhar was there. We had 7 wickets in hand but we couldn’t do it. I’m speechless and hurt, that’s about it.”

Waqar Younis, another esteemed Pakistan pace bowler, conceded that he was utterly speechless witnessing Pakistan’s dismal performance against India, describing it as “appalling.”

“They are a super team. Pakistan – if you can’t win this game, what should I say? This was given to you on a plate and Pakistan really spilled it. It was a horrible performance by the Pakistani batters. There were a few partnerships in the beginning but they couldn’t really finish the game,” he told Star Sports.