Pakistan will need to win big against Sri Lanka and hope England defeats New Zealand.
With a single win and a point from the washed-out game against Pakistan, New Zealand stands second in the Super 8 Group 2 table, with a net run rate of (+) 3.05. Pakistan, which previously had to share points with New Zealand, had its destiny hinged on other results in addition to winning its final game against Sri Lanka.
In the midst of the building pressure, veteran spinner Saqlain Mushtaq presented a weird theory on the Pakistani show Tapmad, leaving fellow panelists Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, and Sana Mir stunned.
Reflecting on Sri Lanka's setback and how it drove Pakistan to the brink of elimination, Mushtaq went on a rambling description of the types of teams that thrive in sports, emphasizing the significance of a strong administrative framework in driving change and building a winning squad.
"There are four types of individuals and organizations present. Pehla, jo hai akalmand aur dileri (First, who is intelligent and brave). The higher the level of intelligence, the braver one will be. That means the more you become aware of the conditions and the situation and gain more knowledge, the issues will rise to the top. Look at the England team, then New Zealand and South Africa. They were intelligent and played bravely. Number 2 pe hai kam akalmand aur kam dileri (less intelligent and slightly less brave). Number three, buzdil aur thoda aur kam akalmand (cowardly and less intelligent). And finally, number four, buzdil aur bewakoof (cowardly and stupid). To rise to the top, you need to gain knowledge, which will give you belief and make you proactive and brave.
And only a good system can make a team intelligent and brave. If you ask a bowler from our team, they will show the field position and tell you how they will bowl. That is an uneducated approach. But if you ask the other type of bowlers, they will do complete research and then tell you how they will start and finish the over with a full analysis of the opposition. To make our team stronger, we have to build that system," Saqlain said on Tapmad Entertainment.
Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, and Sana Mir, all of whom were on the same panel, struggled to contain their laughter.
Hafeez then interrupted Mushtaq to ask, "Which category do we fall under?" Gul and Mir echoed the question before Hafeez quipped, “I gave our team 10th position.”
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Pakistan’s semifinal hopes now hinge on the New Zealand-England clash. They need England to defeat New Zealand, and then Pakistan will need to defeat Sri Lanka by a huge margin.