It was a case of so near yet so far for Pakistan as the Men In Green bowed out of the tournament before we reached the semi-finals stage. Pakistan‘s campaign in this tournament was up and down and could not find the consistency gear. They won against associate nations but struggled against Test playing nations. They did not perform as a team and even though they beat Sri Lanka last night, it was not enough as they lost out on Net Run Rate to New Zealand who made it through. Here, we will try and give you three reasons for Pakistan‘s departure from the tournament.
Little or no support to Sahibzada Farhan in batting dented Pakistan
The main reason why they could not do well in this tournament is lack of runs from top and middle order except for Sahibzada Farhan. Farhan had a tournament to remember as he scored runs in all the matches barring the India game. He had fifties and two hundreds including one last night. But it was not enough as he lacked support from the other end. It was really sad for Farhan as he scored close to 50% of the team’s runs throughout the tournament.
Saim Ayub may have performed with the ball but he was a total flop with the bat. Salman Ali Agha with the bat was very disappointing. Salman before the tournament claimed he is a spin basher and so will bat at 3. Well, he failed to walk the talk for sure. The only good moment he had was to dismiss Abhishek Sharma against India. He failed to lead from the front. Plus, batters playing out of positions did not help their cause.
Babar Azam was asked to bat at 4 but he failed to deliver due to low strike rate and eventually was dropped last night. Fakhar Zaman also struggled in middle order after not playing initially but as soon as he opened the batting, he showed his class with explosive 84 runs. Plus, too much chopping and changing has also led to batters not performing as the middle order looked brittle to say the least. Serious talking needs to be done for them to improve in ICC events.
Inconsistency in bowling and constant changes hampered PakistanÂ
Pakistan’s advantage of playing in Sri Lanka was not capitalised by the Men in Green. They relied on their spinners which was fair enough given the conditions on offer. But inconsistency plagued them a lot. Shaheen Afridi barring the 4-wicket haul against England was disappointing as he went for runs against the associates as well. Salman Mirza was in and out of the side and did decently well one can say. Naseem Shah played yesterday and did decently as one cannot judge a player based on one match.
The spinners were also blowing hot and cold. Usman Tariq had a great tournament and bamboozled the associate teams and troubled the main teams as well. But England’s Harry Brook played him well while Sri Lanka were fantastic against him and he too wilted under pressure last night. Abrar Ahmed bowled well yesterday but he too was dropped due to combination and form in previous games.
Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz looked good in patches but did not threaten the opposition as such. Faheem Ashraf’s role was confusing when he played. He batted down the order at 8 but hardly bowled. A pure batter at 8 is a blunder of the highest order. There have been many tactical blunders and performances that have led to Pakistan missing out on another semi-final.
Failure or struggle to beat proper Test playing nations hurt PakistanÂ
Pakistan’s campaign in this tournament will not be called a disaster but not a great campaign either. Yes, they improved from their Group stage exit in 2024 to Super 8s exit in 2026 and kudos to them for the upward graph and improvement, but is it really an improvement one must ask Pakistan team. If we look at the Group stage, Pakistan was pitted alongside India, USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands.
Pakistan could have lost to Dutch as things became complicated for them, but that dropped catch of Faheem Ashraf by Max O’Dowd gave the Men in Green a lifeline and they won that game thanks to Ashraf’s brilliance. They managed to easily beat USA and thrashed Namibia with Usman Tariq putting on a show. But when they played against India in the big pressure game, they crumbled big time.
Against India, they put India in as Ishan Kishan scored a blazing knock as India posted 175 on the board before the batting of Pakistan failed as Farhan missed out falling for a duck. Batting crumbled for a heavy defeat against the Men in Blue. Then in Super 8s, they had New Zealand game washed out after opting to bat first. Thereafter, they faced England and lost to Harry Brook’s ton as England outsmarted them. Despite getting the lifeline from England-New Zealand game, Pakistan had to win by a margin.
They started well with Farhan and Fakhar doing great with the bat in hand but fell away in the last 4-5 overs to finish with 212. Pakistan bowlers tried but Sri Lanka were too good last night as they passed 148 mark before almost stealing a win. Pakistan did get the win, but were upset as they knew that their tournament was over. So, the only Test playing nation they beat was Sri Lanka and that also by a small margin. If the Lankans would have been aggressive, then maybe Pakistan would have lost and finished in 4th place in standings. But they got lucky and won.
So, a lot to think about for Pakistan as another disappointing campaign in ICC events comes to an end for the Men in Green. They must go back to the drawing board and see how they can improve themselves. Wholesale changes could be on the cards for all we know.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Pakistan Finishes Win Win But Bows Out Of Tournament With Sri Lanka