Despite staging a late comeback in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, Babar Azam-led Pakistan failed to end their trophy drought at the grandest stages of them all. Champions in the 2009 edition of the ICC World T20, Pakistan secured its berth for the knockout phase after South Africa were eliminated from the T20 World Cup on the final matchday of the Super 12 phase.
The Proteas suffered an embarrassing trounce at the hands of the Netherlands which paved the way for the Green Army to revive their World Cup campaign in Australia. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in the virtual quarter-final to set a date with Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the semi-finals. Though Pakistan had a lot of luck going its way, the Green Army failed to live up to expectations as Babar and Co. were outclassed by England in the World Cup final.
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Speaking to ARY news after the summit clash of the T20 World Cup, former Pakistani cricketer Tanveer Ahmed shared his honest assessment of Pakistan’s bitter-sweet campaign in Australia. “Hum yaha tak aye, hum koi apni performances ki wajah se yaha tak nahi phochey. Hum qudrat kay nizam ki waja say final mein pohnchay. South Africa hara Netherlands se, uske baad humney momentum pakda, lekin us se pehle hum bilkul is tournament se bahar ho chukey they. Aur ye har dafah, har ICC kay event mein ye silsila chalta rehta hai (We [Pakistan] reached the knockout phase, not because of our performances. Because of the law of nature, Pakistan made it to the World Cup final. After South Africa lost to the Netherlands, Pakistan managed to gain momentum at the World Cup. However, before the Dutch upset, Pakistan had no chance of making it to the semi-finals. Such has been the story of Pakistan cricket when it comes to ICC events),” Ahmed said.
The former Pakistani cricketer also questioned Babar’s captaincy credentials after England defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. The ex-cricketer and full-time cricket pundit was surprised to see Mohammad Nawaz not bowling a single over in the summit clash. Ahmed also predicted that injured pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will miss the forthcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
“Nawaz se bowling nahi karwayi gayi. Nawaz humey bilkul side mein nazar aye. Adil Rashid ka bhi ball spin hua, Mujhe laga Nawaz se bhi bowl karayi jaygi. Shaheen jo unfit huey, wo 2 overs shayad unkey hotey to wo wicket bhi le saktey they. Unko hit maarna itna asaan bhi nahi hota. Jaha tak mujhe lag rha hai inka PSL to gaya (Nawaz didn’t bowl in the final. He was sidelined by Babar. Since Rashid had some purchase, I thought Babar will utilise Nawaz. And Shaheen would have taken a wicket in his remaining 2 overs if he was not injured. As far as his injury is concerned, I feel his PSL season is all but over),” he concluded.
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