Pakistan had endured a poor start to their T20 World Cup campaign with successive losses against India and Zimbabwe, but have since recovered with two wins on the bounce. The side defeated Netherlands and South Africa to keep its hopes alive for a semi-final qualification in the tournament, but their fate rests on other matches in their group in addition to their own. The blockbuster final match-day of Group 2 will see all the sides in action, and the day will end with two confirmed semi-finalists with four sides – Pakistan, India, South Africa, and Bangladesh – in contention for the next stage.
In Pakistan, a number of former cricketers had expressed their disappointment with the side’s poor start to the tournament, and even the current players – Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir – were critical of the side. Both pacers are currently out-of-favour with the current team management and are currently a part of the expert panel on a Pakistan national television channel.
Interestingly, a fan, in another Pakistan channel, asked the country’s legendary former fast bowler Wasim Akram on his advise to Wahab and Amir, who have “suddenly turned into experts.”
“Wasim bhai, any word of advise for Amir and Wahab who have suddenly turned into TV cricket experts, hell bent on criticising left, right and centre?” a fan asked Akram on A Sports.
Akram, however, had a rather straightforward reply. The former Pakistan captain insisted that both are mature enough but advised them to be “as positive as they can.”
“I suppose, they are big boys. They know what they are doing. Agar main unko advise du… main toh usually advise dene ke haq me nahi hota kyunki hamaare clutre me advise leke har koi ghoomta rehta hai. Aap maango nahi fir bhi advise de denge, Twitter pe de denge. They’re big boys, they know what they are doing, I just want them to be positive whenever they can. That’s it,” said Akram.
Wahab Riaz had last represented Pakistan in December 2020 during a T20I against New Zealand; Amir, meanwhile, played his last international game in August the same year in England.
