Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has accepted the criticism that Pakistan players are facing, adding that all of this is part of a huge learning curve. Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan came up with a huge statement related to the current situation of the Pakistan National Cricket Team. The senior batter admitted that there are a lot of things wrong in the current and that’s why they lost the T20 World Cup 2024.
Mohammad Rizwan as a wicket keeper batter also had a World Cup to forgot as his team Pakistan came out of the first round. Pakistan, who were the runners-up of the previous T20 World Cup, lost their first two matches to co-hosts USA and India in the recently concluded event, which put them on the brink of elimination. The Babar Azam-led side did beat Canada and Ireland, but it was not enough to propel them to the Super-Eight stage.
Pakistan ousted from the group stage in WT20 2024
In what was the worst campaign, the Pakistan team had a torrid outing in the T20 World Cup 2024. The Babar Azam-led side couldn’t get going at all as they played poor cricket throughout and it led to their early exit from the tournament, in the United States of America leg.
Pakistan didn’t have a great start to the tournament as they lost to the United States of America which in itself was a biggest disappointment. The Men in Green lost the game in the Super Over and they faced a lot of criticism for losing to the associate nation despite being the finalists of the last T20 World Cup.
It was expected that Pakistan would come up with a better performance in the next game but it was the same case. They played better cricket in the game against India but couldn’t win the match as Indian bowlers snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat.
With two back-to-back losses in the T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan came under a lot of pressure and their qualification for the Super 8 was dependent on the result of the game between the United States of America and Ireland National Cricket Team. But the game ended in a washout and it meant curtains for the Babar Azam-led side.
As Pakistan suffered an early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024, they faced a lot of criticism. Apart from that there were a lot of reports which claimed that things were not right in the Pakistan dressing room as players are not gelling well with each other. Mohammad Rizwan while talking about Pakistan’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 stated that a lot of things go wrong when a team loses.
Mohammad Rizwan on Pakistan’s poor performance in T20 World Cup 2024
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan felt the criticism their team faced was justified, given their disappointing performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 32-year-old added that top players should always be prepared to face criticism.
Pakistan, who were the runners-up of the previous T20 World Cup, lost their first two matches to co-hosts USA and India in the recently concluded event, which put them on the brink of elimination. The Babar Azam-led side did beat Canada and Ireland, but it was not enough to propel them to the Super-Eight stage.
Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, Mohammad Rizwan conceded that their criticism was justified and suggested that Pakistan would only get better by working on their shortcomings. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan.pk, he stated:
“The criticism the team is facing is justified, and we deserve this since we didn’t perform in accordance with expectations. Players who can’t face criticism won’t be able to succeed. We are disappointed with our performance in the T20 World Cup. There are multiple reasons behind our losses. When a team loses, one can’t say that bowling and batting is doing well.”
Mohammad Rizwan finished as Pakistan’s top run-getter of the 2024 T20 World Cup with 110 runs in four matches. However, his strike rate was just 90.90. Their intent and inability to play at a good tempo came under intense criticism as the Men in Green struggled to chase down a score even against Ireland.
We all didn’t play according to our expectations – Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan while further talking about the poor campaign of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024 said it’s hard for them to point out where they fell short as overall it was a poor performance. Speaking about the same, he elaborated:
“Because if you see, sometimes we don’t finish well, sometimes our powerplay doesn’t go well, sometimes our death bowling doesn’t go well, sometimes our powerplay doesn’t go well.
“So when a team wins, they perform well at the end of the match. So you can’t say, what was our mistake? But we can say that as a team, we all didn’t play according to our expectations,” he concluded.
With PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi calling the need for a ‘major surgery’ following Pakistan’s loss to India, the right-hander suggested that it was indeed required. He added:
“Operations are a normal thing. When a person is ill, operation is necessary. PCB Chairman is a hard-working person. The decision about who will remain in the team and who will not is the chairman’s right.”
Pakistan are likely to host Bangladesh for two Tests in August 2024, but the schedule is yet to be officially announced.