The Cricket World Cup is nothing without Pakistan. Whether they win or lose, the Pakistan cricket team adds spice to the tournament.
The Babar Azam-led outfit started their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with a shock defeat against the USA in a Super Over in Dallas. It puts the former champions in familiar territory. Due to meet India in New York on Sunday, all their remaining group fixtures have now become must-win encounters if Pakistan are to advance to the Super Eights.
This is not the first time they have started a big tournament poorly. The 1992 World Cup campaign, the loss against Bangladesh at the 1999 ODI World Cup, the 2007 loss against Ireland, the 2022 T20 World Cup loss against Zimbabwe, and the humbling against Afghanistan in Chennai in 2023 are all upsets suffered by Pakistan on the biggest stage.
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Back in Pakistan, former cricketers had pulled out swords even before their first match and now there is an absolute meltdown in YouTube channels and TV studios. “Unfortunately, Pakistan never deserves to win,” said former speedster Shoaib Akhtar on his YouTube channel. He added: “Disappointing loss for Pakistan. We are not off to a good start. Losing to the USA, we repeated history, like we did against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup.”
If history is anything to go by, calculators will be out, and after a win or two, comparison with Imran Khan’s 1992 side will begin. But will the fairytale be repeated? Does Babar have it in him to turn things around?
All is not well
Babar looked visibly frustrated after Haris Rauf bowled a low full toss, which was put away for a four by USA’s Nitish Kumar to send the match to the Super Over. Fakhar Zaman rushed towards his captain to calm him down before newly-appointed coach Gary Kirsten intervened.
Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali blamed poor preparation for the team’s dismal start.
“Leading up to this T20 World Cup, things were not ideal for Pakistan,” Azhar had told The Indian Express before the tournament.
“When we are hurt, we always turn up as a strong unit. You can’t rule out Pakistan in any big event. But in the current scenario, you can feel that not everything is well within the group.
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“Off the field, there is too much drama. The home series against a weaker New Zealand side was bad and even against Ireland, we didn’t play well. I won’t be surprised if, in the group matches, a minnow team ends up beating Pakistan. The T20 format is very brutal, the field is level,” he had added presciently.
Poor captaincy and friendship taunts
Ahead of the match, openers Ahmed Shehzad and Imam-ul-Haq were involved in a heated exchange on Tabish Hashmi’s show ‘Haarna Mana Hai.’
“Babar Azam is maintaining his friendships. He has been carrying players for a long time. The players who are out of form for a long time are constantly getting chances. It doesn’t look good. If there was any other captain, he wouldn’t have carried players for 35-40 games. We don’t play cricket to win bilateral series but to win ICC events. Did we win any event in the last 4-5 years? There are gangs and friendships, and an agent has been manipulating cricket for the last 4-5 years,” Shehzad said.
“One captain doesn’t get five events. Babar was removed and then brought back. I would understand that if he was MS Dhoni. It’s unfair on Shaheen, you made him captain for two matches and then removed him.”
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On his part, the skipper blamed his bowlers, saying a total of 159 in regular time was defendable.
“Today’s wicket had help for the fast bowlers in the first six overs,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
“Because of the early start – the fast bowlers obviously get a little help. There was some juice in the pitch early in the morning. So they utilised that and executed their plans. We also got help in the second innings, but were not up to the mark in terms of our bowling areas in the first 10 overs.”
Mohammad Amir conceded 18 runs in the Super Over, including three wides and seven extras. Babar said: “Amir is an experienced bowler. He knows how to bowl and we were just trying to bowl according to the field. But I think the US batsmen were smart. Even when the ball went to the wicketkeeper, they were running.”
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Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif blamed Babar’s captaincy and defended Amir.
“It is easy to blame Amir but you have to realise that he is coming back to international cricket after four years. He bowled an excellent 19th over but if you see the last ball of the Super Over, he put his arms in the air. He was trying too hard, especially against the left-hander. Then Fakhar (Zaman) didn’t take strike against the left-arm seamer in the Super Over. Some weird on-field decisions were taken,” Latif felt.
Babar, who became the world’s leading T20I run-getter during the game, appeared scratchy in his 43-ball knock before falling LBW to Jasdeep Singh in the 16th over. The question over his approach in T20s has been the talking point for the past few years.
Former captain Shoaib Malik has also questioned Babar’s leadership skills. “He has played at No.3, but was not able to score runs, He is opening, but not able to give starts. He must come and bat in the middle order. Our best batter and captain is the problem, he should lead from the front and guide the likes of Iftikhar Ahmad and Azam Khan,” Malik said.
A timeline of drama in Pakistan cricket recently
* In the middle of the 2023 ODI World Cup, former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down as chief selector after conflict- of-interest allegations.
* On Nov 15, After the poor show in the ODI World Cup, Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan captain in all formats.
*On November 17, Wahab Riaz, the former Pakistan fast bowler, was appointed chief selector
*On December 1, PCB appointed Kamran Akmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum and Salman Butt as consultants to chief selector Wahab Riaz. Butt’s appointment, his first position in the PCB since being banned for spot-fixing, came in for heavy criticism and a day later, he withdrew his name.
* Four months after being appointed T20I captain, left-arm paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi was sacked after Pakistan lost a T20I series against New Zealand 4-1. Babar was reinstated as Pakistan’s white-ball captain.
*After being removed as captain, reports suggested that Shaheen expressed dismay following PCB’s release of a falsified statement attributed to him subsequent to his removal from captaincy. Mohsin Naqvi, PCB chairman, rushed to Kakul, where the team was training at a military camp to diffuse the situation.
* Two months after the 2023 ODI World Cup, Grant Bradburn, Mickey Arthur and Andrew Puttick resigned from their respective posts at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
* Former captain Mohammad Hafeez served as Pakistan’s head coach in Australia and New Zealand. Hafeez had also been appointed as Pakistan team director. On February 15, 2024, exactly three months after his appointment, the PCB removed Hafeez from the role.
* Haris Rauf, who made himself unavailable for Pakistan’s Test series against Australia late last year, lost his central contract. He had it reinstated after PCB chairman Naqvi admitted that the decision was wrong.
* On April 28, PCB appointed former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie as Pakistan’s new Test coach and former South Africa opener and a World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten as white-ball coach.
* Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, who were the most vocal voices in Pakistan against captain Babar Azam, decided to come out of international retirement for the T20 World Cup.
* In the past one and half years, PCB has seen four chairman. Ramiz Raja was removed after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested. Najam Sethi replaced Raja, and was later replaced by Zaka Ashraf. Earlier this year, PCB finally held elections and appointed a full-time chairman, with Naqvi elected for a three-year term.
“The problem with Pakistan cricket has been political interference. The result against the USA is a true reflection of the PCB and the direct impact of the choices we have made for the past 20-30 years in cricket,” says Rashid Latif.
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