‘No consistency in selection and preparation was hodgepodge’ – Ramiz Raja on Pakistan’s dismal T20 World Cup campaign

Ramiz Raja. (Source – Getty Images)

Pakistan’s hopes of lifting their second T20 World Cup title were extinguished before the tournament even reached the Super Eights stage.

Losing to the USA in their opening match and then letting a winning position slip against India proved too much to overcome, despite a consolation win against Canada and Ireland. With the USA vs Ireland match getting abandoned due to rain, it confirmed Pakistan’s elimination eventually.

The disappointing early exit has led to much criticism from former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja. Raja did not mince words in calling out the lack of planning, consistency, and game awareness that troubled the Men in Green throughout the marquee event.

“There was no consistency in selection, and their preparation was hodgepodge because they didn’t know who was going to open the innings. They were in experimental mode for a very long time, and then they had to recall retired players. What does that tell you about the system,” he told Star Sports.

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There’s a lot of introspection needed: Ramiz Raja

The former cited the backdrop of administrative turmoil at the PCB and a change in captaincy as further factors that unsettled the team’s preparations. But his harshest critique was reserved for the players’ lack of situational intelligence on the field.

“It’s just the game awareness. You can see there’s massive talent in bowling, and bits and pieces in batting as well. But they’ve got to sort out the order and improve game awareness, what ball to bowl in a crunch moment, what shot to play. It’s just mind-boggling, some of the stuff that we saw in this World Cup campaign,” he added.

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Pakistan had reinstated Babar Azam as white-ball captain after he stepped down following last year’s ODI World Cup failure. But not even Azam’s leadership could prevent the T20 World Cup collapse which Raja insists requires deep introspection from all involved.

“Plus, the fact that there was a change at the PCB, and then a change in captaincy as well. So, I think a lot of things didn’t go well for Pakistan. There’s a lot of introspection needed regarding why they went so wrong,” Raja concluded.