Former Pakistani captains Wasim Akram and Misbah Ul Haq gave their reviews on the Men in Green’s poor performance in the ICC World Cup 2023. Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals and finished in the 5th spot on the points table.
Pakistan won only four games out of 9 in the CWC 2023 league stage, losing to England, Australia, India, Afghanistan, and South Africa. Neither the batters nor the bowlers could consistently score runs including captain Babar Azam, who didn’t even score a single century in the event.
Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram said that the writing was on the wall as this was the first time Men in Green lost five matches in a single World Cup edition.
“I think for me either you are No. 1 or 2,3,4,5 it doesn’t matter. It was written on the wall. Let’s be direct, let’s be honest. First time in history, Pakistan has lost five matches in the World Cup. I am sorry if I am too blunt. It was writing on the wall from the Asia Cup onwards.
Everybody knew that this team was struggling, there was a fitness problem. This is still a young side, with 10-12 boys under the age of 30. Things can still be rectified. Once England won the toss, it was all over for Pakistan. Although, I knew Pakistan can’t qualify you have to say that mathematically they still have a chance,” Akram said on A Sports.
His fellow panelist and former skipper Misbah Ul Haq termed the Pakistan team’s performance as a collective failure, instead of blaming individuals.
“As a player, management, we need to realize that it was an overall failure. It has been a collective failure, not one person is to be blamed. We are behind in skills, and fitness and were behind in preparation as well. Everything has been damage. Our top-class bowling suddenly vanished. Why didn’t we look at our spinners? We have spoken about that if you are going to India, you need all your departments to click. The new ball is our strength. We have failed to make an impact with the new ball,” said Misbah.
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Former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan suggested other teams have gone ahead and the board need to do a self-assessment.
“I think the other teams have improved a lot and unfortunately, we have lacked behind in that race. Genuinely, not only cricketers but PCB will have to do a self-assessment. We don’t have a pool. Naseem Shah got injured and there was no backup.
We didn’t plan and didn’t play any bilateral against top teams. Just before the World Cup, we played for three months in Sri Lanka in hot and humid conditions, and they looked drained out. There was no spark,” said Moin.
Pakistan finished with 8 points from 9 games in CWC 2023.
