Pakistan on Sunday lost their blockbuster clash with arch-rivals India by 61 runs, being bowled out for 114 in Colombo.
With the win against Pakistan, India made it to the Super Eight. Pakistan, however, will have to beat Namibia in their last group-stage match on February 18 to qualify for the next round.
After the match, criticism of the national team’s performance flooded social media, coming from former players and cricketing icons.
Former Pakistan player and commentator Ramiz Raja called the match “a bit of a disaster — especially batting”.
“India have been fielding [the] same bowling attack against Pakistan since last two or three years, and every time [the] batsmen have been woefully ordinary,” he said in a post on X, adding that there was no growth.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf took aim at Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Shadab Khan, saying that “time’s up” for them.
“Pakistan’s T20 squad needs new performers, not empty wins against weaker sides,” he said.
Former opener Ahmed Shahzad called Pakistan’s performance “pathetic cricket” and said it was the “sad story of Pakistan cricket. Same old faces, same old results. Please don’t fool the nation anymore.”
However, he noted that there was still time to bring in some positive change by bringing in Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay and Salman Mirza.
“They should be playing,” he added.
Pakistan player Sohaib Maqsood criticised Pakistan’s bowling, calling it “by far the reason for today’s defeat”.
“It’s not a 180 [run] pitch, even 140 could have been tough to chase on this pitch,” Maqsood said on X.
He added that Pakistan prepared on similar pitches against Australia at home before [the] World Cup, noting that “Agha won all the tosses and batted first. Why [choose] to bowl first today?”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan opined that India “seem to intimidate Pakistan on the cricket field”.
“They (India) are so much better in all facets of the game and [have] such a better mentality of coping with the huge occasion,” he said.
Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle stated that Pakistan’s cricket administration put far too much pressure on the team.
“You could see that in how tentative they were,” he wrote on X.
Sports presenter and television host Zainab Abbas said the game was turning out to be a “one-sided affair” & “really indicative” of the gap between the two sides over the years.
“That said, Pakistan did not even come close to playing to its potential, bowled poorly & batted recklessly,” she continued.
In her X post, she said, “The ones Pakistan have backed and relied on in bilaterals have put up a poor show in tournaments & not for the first time.”
More to follow
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