(Credit Screengrab)
The Pakistan Cricket team, captained by Babar Azam, faced severe criticism for their dismal batting display against arch-rivals India in the recent T20 World Cup 2024 group-stage match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Former Pakistan international Wasim Akram didn’t hold back in his assessment, expressing frustration at his team’s inability to successfully chase down a modest target of 120 runs.
In a segment with Star Sports after the game, Akram delivered his verdict, suggesting that it’s the same group of players who are responsible for Pakistan’s repeated failures.
“The Pakistan team don’t need any enemies, they are more than enough,” said Akram
Wasim Akram, the former Pakistani fast bowler, expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s batting performance and criticized their lack of awareness during the chase. Akram didn’t mince words in his assessment of the team’s shortcomings.
He asked, “Are we supposed to spoonfeed and teach them what situational awareness is? Will Babar or the coach tell? These batters have been playing for the past 8-10 years”.
Despite Mohammad Rizwan being well established in his innings, he fell while attempting to attack the Indian fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who is known for providing breakthroughs. The team had the option to adopt a more defensive approach against Bumrah and target the other bowlers, but they failed to do so, much to Akram’s frustration.
“Should I tell Rizwan that the main bowler has come in to take wickets, better to take some singles. After 10 overs no one hit boundaries, no one tried and we couldn’t chase down 120 also. It is an embarrassment. I want to back the Pakistan team, but this is too much,” he concluded.
Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign has begun disastrously, with the team failing to secure a win in their first two matches, thereby jeopardizing their chances of advancing to the Super 8s stage. With upcoming matches against Canada and Ireland, Pakistan must secure victories by significant margins and rely on favorable outcomes in other matches to stay in contention.
