The team endured a startling loss against tournament debutants USA and subsequently fell short against arch-rivals India. Pakistan’s sole triumph came in their encounter with Canada.
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Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who has been a staunch critic of Pakistan’s poor performances in the past, didn’t hesitate to express his disappointment and even took a jab at his own team.
On the official Instagram account of the ICC, Akram responded to the news of USA qualifying for the Super Eight stage. While he extended his congratulations to Monank Patel’s team, Akram also had a blunt message for the Pakistani side, led by Babar Azam.
“Congratulations to the USA, They’ve done amazingly well. When you talk about globalization of the game, this is it. USA qualified for the Super Eight, they deserve to be there. They defeated Pakistan, in their group match. For Pakistan, what’s the plan? EK 601 (flight number) to Dubai, to their respective cities. From then, we will see what happens,” said Akram.
Earlier, Akram also blamed biased selection for Pakistan’s below-par performances in the T20 World Cup.
“Pakistani players think that if they don’t perform well, the coaches will be sacked, and nothing will happen to them,” Akram said during a broadcast after the defeat to India.
“It is time to keep the coaches and change the entire team.”
Former player Kamran Akmal said Shadab Khan was chosen to play because he is close to captain Babar Azam, and that meant leaving out leg-spinner Usama Mir, the top wicket-taker in this year’s Pakistan Super League.
“When you select players based on friendship, you’ll get these results,” Akmal told AFP. “Mir should have been in the squad… That was a big injustice.”