In the last and fourth T20i against England, Pakistan produced below-par performance, allowing pundits and fans to question their preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Pakistan were clueless in their batting and equally baffled when it comes to their bowling and fielding, surely not a good sign ahead of the mega event.
After a series defeat against the Three Lions, many pundits, including the likes of Robin Uthapa and Nasser Hussain, claimed that Pakistan is not ready for the T20 World Cup.
Nasser Hussain, the cricketer-turned-commentator, said that Pakistan were awful in the series against England. Hussain admits that Pakistan have been a mercurial side but this time around, they lack the basics, going into the main tournament.
“Pakistan were really poor tonight. They’ve always been a mercurial side and they turn up in big events. However, I feel this Pakistan side has a lot of work to do and address a lot of issues. Because if you play like this, then sides like Ireland would look at you and say you’ve to be better than this because we’re coming after you.”
If we talk about the last T20i against England, Pakistan could only rack up 157 runs in 19.5 overs. While the skipper Babar Azam showed intent and aggression as he walked to the dugout scoring 36 off 22, striking at 163. The middle-order cut a sorry figure.
Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, could not perform as per the expectations. While Iftikhar Ahmed showed some defiance against the wayward English bowlers, he also left the team in lurch, scoring just 21, at a strike rate of 116.
Nevertheless, Usman Khan, who did not feature in a single game against Ireland, was on song, firing on all cylinders. The right-handed batsman scored 38 off 21, with the help of 3 boundaries and two sixes.
Similarly, like Nasser, India’s Robin Uthapa made a similar claim. Uthappa, the former Indian batter, said that Ireland can beat Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, given Pakistan’s continuous woes in their batting and particularly in fielding.
“It’s just that Pakistan have been one of those teams where, in a tournament, especially in an ICC tournament, they have always been upset by somebody. There is one of those games. See, their fielding has been particularly iffy at all times. we have seen it in the latest Asia Cup that even happened. I think, across time, in fact, Pakistan’s fielding has been very shady in that sense. So, I think, one of those games will happen where they will not turn up. I feel a team like Ireland can certainly upset them,” Uthappa stated.
Well, Pakistan is a well-known side, when it comes to upsetting defeats. In the 2007 ODI World Cup, Ireland handed Pakistan a 3-wicket defeat, with 32 balls to spare. Talking about the recent one, Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup, as the Chevrons defeated Pakistan by one run. And, on May 10th, 2024, Ireland got the better of Pakistan in the first T20i of the series, chasing a total of 182 in 19.5 overs.
Hence, Pakistan have multiple gaps to fill, heading into the T20 World Cup, and adding insult to injury, the pace attack of Pakistan has not been up the mark as well.
