Pakistan is out of the T20 World Cup 2024 as the team failed to qualify for the Super 8 of the tournament.
Pakistan only managed to win one of their three matches in the group stage of the event and depended on other teams’ results to qualify but as Ireland’s and USA’s game was called off due to rain on Friday, Pakistan’s journey in the T20 World Cup came to an end.
Throughout the tournament, the team was facing backlash due to their poor approach and performance in the group stage and now, that they are out of the tournament, the criticism is as strong as ever as former cricketer Mohammad Wasim has criticised Pakistan’s inability to establish a middle order and he believes that cost them matches in the T20 World Cup 2024.
“It was the middle order that took Pakistan to the final of the World Cup (2022), not your openers. Mohammad Haris took you to the final. Where is that middle order now? As soon as they started to win matches for Pakistan, as soon as they started to establish themselves, they were sidelined. You didn’t let the middle order establish,” said Wasim on a local sports YouTube channel.
Wasim was chief selector of Pakistan cricket team from 2020 to 2022. He added that if he had some authority within the team or the board, he wouldn’t have let any of these things happen with the team and players.
“I wish I had some authority within the team so I wouldn’t have allowed these things to happen. Players were part of the squad for three or more tours and they didn’t play or they played one or two matches. That is not how you make a team. That is not how you establish a middle order. And it is not something which is only happening now. It has been going on for the past two or three years.”
He further exploded on Pakistan’s management sidelining players on baseless excuses, “They sidelined Iftikhar Ahmed just because of one misfield as if the others were fielding like Jonty Rhodes. Whoever they want to keep in the team, they just make an excuse for it.”
Despite being out of the T20 World Cup, Pakistan has one more match scheduled for Sunday, June 16 against Ireland in Florida. Ireland has beaten Pakistan just a month prior in a T20I on their home soil.
