In a response to Pakistan’s defeat against the co-host United States of America in their opening fixture of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the former captain of the national team, Misbah-ul-Haq criticized the leadership skills of the current captain Babar Azam, who looked lost in his plannings.
It was the first biggest international victory of the US team, after making a debut in this format in 2019, while they put the 2009 champions in a difficult position to qualify for the ‘Super-8’ stage.
After getting invited to bat first, the ‘Men in Green’ had a very poor beginning in the powerplay, as they could manage only 30 runs in the first six overs, having lost three crucial wickets. Their captain Babar was in a different zone, being on seven of 22 balls at one point. Shadab Khan’s impressive knock of 40-runs in 25 balls recovered them a little.
But after the dismissal of the spin bowling all-rounder, Pakistan again started to go down with wickets at a cluster, as they saw the back of Azam Khan, the wicket-keeper batter on a first ball duck. Shaheen Shah Afridi’s unbeaten 23-runs pushed them to 159/7 in their allotted 20-overs.
‘Brother, there is no balance in the team’ – Misbah-ul-Haq
The USA made a great beginning in the batting department as they reached 44/1 in the powerplay. Their captain Monank Patel put up a great knock of 50-runs in 38 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and one six, at a strike rate of around 132, at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
When the moment came of defending 19-runs in the super-over, Saurabh Netravalkar showed his calmness with proper line and length under pressure with the ball in hand.
The former Pakistan captain, Misbah-ul-Haq reckoned that the America team was more strategically sound and displayed great awareness as he looked back to their performance in the ‘Super-over’.
‘It was timid. The USA were dominating. We were waiting, thinking that help would come from above,” Retired captain said in a television show called ‘Flick’.
The former middle-order batter also put figure on Babar’s comments of them failing to execute their plans in the ground, as Misbah feels that the 2009-champions have no planning at all for the game, and that was quite clear when they didn’t know who would bowl their second over between Naseem Shah and Mohmmad Amir.
‘No plan. Babar Azam said they were not able to execute their plans. There was no plan. When it came to handling the fast bowlers, we didn’t know who would bowl after the first over. Both Naseem and Amir were walking to take the run-up. So, we did not have a plan for even 2 overs. They looked clueless,” Veteran added.
The member of the 2009 T20 World Cup squad also nailed the hammer on how energetic the America team looked during the super-over.
‘Look at their game awareness and look at ours. In the Super Over, they were pinching extra runs via byes. In terms of fitness, in terms of speed, in terms of smartness, they defeated us,” Misbah-ul-Haq reflected on the same show.
He was quite critical on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to bring back Babar Azam for the captaincy duties, rather than addressing the real issues of the team’s poor show in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shaheen Shah Afridi replaced Babar, but the later again returned to the position.
‘In the last 6 months, look at whatever has happened behind the scenes. After the ODI World Cup, there was a musical chair for the board chairman role, and then for captaincy. The problems that came out of the ODI World Cup, we were not able to settle them down. They have one in with the same batting order, the same spin bowling unit, same balance of the team, captaincy, and planning. The chronic problems resurfaced,” 50-year-old remarked.
The former coach, Misbah-ul-Haq of the national team questioned on the balance of the team, and how the selectors have picked the spinners, without looking at the conditions.
‘From the time they picked the squad, I have been saying ‘Brother, there is no balance in the team’. I said they don’t have a good fast-bowling all-rounder. And even the spinners, they haven’t picked them based on conditions,” Misbah-ul-Haq concluded.
Pakistan will face India in their second game on June 09, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, in New York.