The Pakistan cricket fraternity is reeling with disappointment over the team’s premature exit from the T20 World Cup, exacerbated by the manner in which captain Babar Azam and his squad failed to deliver. The shocking loss to debutants USA in their opening match set off Pakistan’s downfall, followed by a missed opportunity against India and a crucial win against Canada to stay in contention.
The frustration is palpable, particularly among former Pakistan players who have openly criticized the team in their own distinctive ways.
Aapne choon-choon ka murabba bana diya hai iss team ko (you have turned this team into a mixture of varied things),” said former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, criticizing both players as well as the country’s cricket board.
“You brought back old, retired players so that somehow you save your face in the T20 World Cup…(you) let some of the good talent slip away just because this is a World Cup and it requires experience, we have to bring back retired players, even if they have bitched about the captain,” said Ramiz sarcastically, who also had a brief stint as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“Aise thodi team chalti hai. Yeh pehle bhi humne kar ke dekh liya tha (the team doesn’t work that way; we have tried this before),” Ramiz continued. “I think it was the 2003 World Cup. We gathered all the super stars in that team thinking that experience will come handy. But those were ageing stars, and Pakistan couldn’t be saved. We got beaten badly there as well.”
Pakistan restored Babar Azam as their captain for white-ball cricket after he voluntarily resigned from the position due to a disappointing performance at the ODI World Cup in India last year. Ramiz believed that the team’s leadership should be given the opportunity to “thrive.”
“You have to see who to play, what is the captain’s role. Unless you allow the leadership to flourish in this environment, let them take decision, introduce discipline and merit, and not try to run it (the team) from the sidelines, unless you have the cricket IQ and thinking and take good decisions morally and cricket-wise, until that time it’s almost impossible for this team to get back up on its legs,” Ramiz said.
“You will now find sacrifical lambs to save your place. That’s not how you run cricket.”
Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign will wrap up with their final, non-significant match in Group A against Ireland on Sunday.