Pakistan has exited the T20 World Cup in the group stage of the tournament. Their unceremonious exit hasn't been received well. The responses have been anger and frustration. These include coming from former players. Most of the blame has been placed on the players themselves.
When it comes to the blame game, it's on the entire team. The term, 'groupings' has been used. Senior members were blamed for not performing when it was needed the most. The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) is said to take action. The biggest challenge before Babar Azam on his comeback as captain, was to unite the team but he couldn't do so because of the groupings. Shaheen Shah Afridi was upset at losing the captaincy and Babar not supporting him when it was required the most while Mohammad Rizwan was unhappy at not being considered for the captaincy.
Someone close to the team said, "There are three groups in the team, one led by Babar Azam, the second one by Shaheen Shah Afridi and the third one by Mohammad Rizwan. Add to this mix the return of seniors like Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim and the recipe was ready for a World Cup disaster. The return of Imad and Amir added to the confusion as it was difficult for Babar to get any worthwhile performances from both of them as they had not played top level domestic or international cricket for a long while now except in franchise based leagues. There were even instances where some players were not talking to each other and a few of them even tried to appease all the group leaders in the team."
What's shocking to learn is that the chairman of the board, Mohsin Naqvi was aware of this situation. He was fed the information by his right hand man, national selector and senior manager, Wahab Riaz.
He said, "Naqvi held two meetings with all the players in private and gave them pep talks asking them to put their issues aside and focus on winning the World Cup and he would remove all misgivings in the team later on but apparently things didn't work out. I am not defending Babar but what is a captain supposed to do when your premier bowler can't even defend 15 in the final over against a weak USA side and concedes a boundary and six on full tosses or when an all-rounder brought out of retirement to help win the World Cup sits out with fitness issues."
A PCB source said, "Naqvi is himself facing problems as he is not the ruling government's choice to head the board. He is also now facing criticism for the WC [World Cup] debacle and there are calls for his head as well."
"The one good thing for Naqvi is that Pakistan now has two test series lined up at home against Bangladesh and England and with Shan Masood already the test captain and a new head coach in Jason Gillispie and he doesn't have to worry about immediate changes.”
Usually in Pakistan cricket, a failed World Cup campaign means that heads roll and the board tends to search for scapegoats but this time even the cricket fans and critics, are pushing the PCB to take steps to stop the fall of the team.
One of the so-called, 'leaders' Imad Wasim, has put the blame to the team's mindset. The 35-year-old all-rounder, who came out of retirement for the T20 World Cup 2024, wants a total reset in the way Pakistan play their white-ball cricket.
“I’m giving my personal opinion so don’t make these the headlines. It’s all your mindset. What mindset do you want to play the game with? You either play fire with fire, or you play your way,” Imad told reporters in Lauderhill ahead of Pakistan’s last match against Ireland in the ongoing T20 World Cup. I personally believe that you should play fire with fire and even if you lose, you can sit down and say to yourself that on that day we were not good enough."
Former star bowler, Wasim Akram, has been brutal in response to the exit. He has said to leave the coaching staff alone and, instead, dump the entire team. He said, "Pakistani players think that if they don't perform well, the coaches will be sacked, and nothing will happen to them. "It is time to keep the coaches and change the entire team."
It's important to note that the PCB sacked support staff headed by Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn after Pakistan failed to advance to the semi-finals of last year's ODI World Cup. Babar Azam had also lost his captaincy in all three formats but he was surprisingly reinstated as the T20i captain, replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi at the start of this year.
Pakistan's entire campaign has been tarnished from the beginning. Throughout the T20 World Cup, the team was dogged by allegations of internal discord and that some players were in the squad because of favouritism and not merit. Fans and analysts also criticised the team's management for not picking the right players for the World Cup.
Former wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, said that 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 (a T20 competition) .
He said, "When you select players based on friendship, you'll get these results. Mir should have been in the squad... that was a big injustice."
Reports of discord over the swap also marred Pakistan's warm-up for the World Cup. They lost to Ireland, lost 2-0 to England and drew 2-2 against a depleted New Zealand.
The 2024 edition marked a dramatic fall for Pakistan from the last World Cup two years ago, when they reached the final. "I am disgusted and will not watch the World Cup any more," said Mohammad Asim, a Pakistani fan. "The team selection was biased and based on friendship," said the 19-year-old university student.
Pakistan are due to host next year's Champions Trophy and there are calls for a major shake-up in the team and the management.
A change of scenary seems to be needed when it comes to the national team. When it comes to squad selection, friendships should go out the window. These kind of selections should be objective in nature. If feelings get hurt, who cares. Those who don't get selected should understand why and accept it. When a team comes together, there should be unity. There shouldn't be any divisions or subdivisions. They should all come together for a common purpose.