Pakistan failed to cross the final hurdle as the side endured a five-wicket loss to England in the titular clash at the T20 World Cup on Sunday. The English team, riding on Ben Stokes’ composed unbeaten knock of 52 off 49 deliveries, chased down a 138-run target with an over to spare. England lifted their second T20 World Cup title, adding to the 2010 victory when the side had defeated Australia in the final; for Pakistan, however, there will be significant questions when they get back to the drawing board.
Pakistan’s struggled in the batting department returned to haunt the side in the all-important final, as the side failed to recover from the early blow of Mohammad Rizwan after being invited to bat at toss. Pakistan put a lowly score of 137/8, and despite the early breakthrough of Alex Hales in the first over, England bounced back thanks to Ben Stokes who stuck at one end to see the side through the finish line.
Following the loss, Pakistan’s star pacer Mohammad Amir, who is currently out-of-favour with the board’s selection committee, was critical of Babar Azam for not trusting Mohammad Nawaz with the ball throughout the match. Nawaz bowled two overs for the side in its semi-final win against New Zealand and even took the wicket of Glenn Phillips.
“Hamaari bowling ne poore tournament me sabse achhi bowling ki hai. Koi team hamein khulke nahi maar saki. Ye credit jaata hai hamaare bowlers ko. Yes, Nawaz ka mujhe khud samajh nahi aaya. Pehle match ke baad dressing room me video ban rahi hai ki tujhe fikar nahi karni, tu mera match-winner hai. Uske baad poore tournament laga hi nahi vo batsman khel raha hai ya bowler khel raha hai. (Our bowling has been the best in this tournament, no one could attack us. But yes, I can’t understand Nawaz’s case. After the first match against India, there was video made in the dressing room where Babar told Nawaz he was a match-winner. After that, it was hard to judge whether he played as a batsman or a bowler),” Amir said on 24 News HD.
“Ya toh aapko apne players pe trust nahi hai, ye sirf kehne ki hi baat hai. Agar aap bol rahe ho toh usko poora bhi karo. Nawaz PSL me pehla over karta hai. Thoda toh trust show karo uspe. Nawaz ne kuch matches aise jitwaaye hain ki aap soch bhi nahi sakte ho. Aaj vo kar sakta tha. Jis wicket pe seam ho raha hota, vahan spinners zyada dangerous hote hain. Toh mujhe samajh nahi aayi ye. (It shows you don’t trust your player. If you’re saying something, you should act on it. Nawaz bowls the first over in PSL. He has won matches on his own. He could’ve done something today. I couldn’t understand the decision),” said Amir further.
Amir, then, hinted that Babar is not a “brave” captain.
“Harry Brook Shadab se phasa hua tha. Vahan Nawaz ka armour bhi bohot achha hai. Udhar aapko wicket mil sakti thi. Fir vo kehte hain ki ji tanqeed karte hain. Captain brave hota hai, situation ko read karta hai. Aapne brave decisions nahi liye, and jab aap haarte ho toh ye cheezein nazar aati hain. (Harry Brook was struggling against Shadab. Nawaz could’ve done something there. But then again, they will say that I criticise a lot. Captain should be brave. You didn’t take brave decisions, and when you lose, these things are visible),” said Amir.
