Pakistan's narrow defeat in a thrilling Group A match against archrivals India last Sunday at the ongoing
T20 World Cup
continues to invite the fury of fans, experts and former players, who are demanding an explanation from captain
Babar Azam
and the
Pakistan
Cricket Board.
Chasing India's paltry 119 all out, Pakistan were cruising at one stage, requiring 47 runs in as many balls with eight wickets in hand.
But led by bowling spearheard and 'Player of the Match' Jasprit Bumrah (3 for 14), India made a memorable comeback to win by limiting Pakistan to 113 for 7 for a six-run win.
The repercussions of Pakistan's second consecutive defeat, after a stunning loss against co-hosts USA in their opening match, are felt in the words of former players who are questioning the skipper, selectors and the board for the decline in Pakistan's cricket lately.
"Jab se Babar Azam captain hain, hum boht mediocre, sorry for using this word, teams se haar rahe hain (ever since Babar became captain, we have been losing to mediocre teams)," said former Pakistan batsman
Ahmed Shehzad
on a TV show.
"The kind of progress that was going on, these things were on the cards and bound to happen some day."
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 31, but once he was castled by Bumrah in the 15th over, the team panicked under pressure and ultimately succumbed to it.
"There are players who are taking care of the team for the last 4-5 years, who take all the decisions. So wasn't it their duty to take the responsibility of ensuring that the team chases down 120 to win such an important match against India?" Shehzad asked.
The second best scorer in Pakistan's run-chase was Imad Wasim who made 15 runs but consumed 23 balls in doing so.
"Aapne B, C, D teams ke khilaaf perform kar ke logon ko hallucinate kiya hai aur pagal banaya hai (you guys have performaed against B, C, D teams and fooled the people)," Shehzad accused the team. "Your salaries were hiked, PCB paid you to evolve yourself and your cricket..."
Shehzad also trained his guns towards Babar, almost mocking at the Pakistan captain with reference of the word 'king' and flashing a piece of paper carrying Babar's stats in big tournaments.
"Your (Babar) scores in big compeitions...your average is 27 and strike rate is 112. And 1400 of your runs have come in a losing cause, which is at No. 3 in the world in that list. So these stats are of which king, tell me that? What should I do with this king who can't win us the match?" said Shehzad.
The video ended with Shehzad accusing Babar of bias.
"You have fooled the entire public. Aap apne dosto ke saath team bana rahe hain, dosto ko team ke andar rakh rahe hain (you are making a team with your friends, keeping your friends in the team)," said Shehzad.
Pakistan will take on Canada in their do-or-die clash of the T20 World Cup on June 11.
English (US) ·