Ramiz gives his verdict on Pak campaign

Renowned cricket commentator and former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has done a scathing assessment of Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, labeling it as a series that began and ended on a disappointing note.

"For Pakistan, this World Cup started on a disaster note and ended at the same note. If you’re dependent on other teams or are relying on weather forecasts, the team will never proceed to the finals or at least to the next stage of the tournament. There are some fundamentals of cricket that you are required to follow, and these are never going to change," Ramiz said.

The former cricketer did acknowledge some individual performances, notably praising Naseem Shah for his bowling prowess and decent batting display against India.

"There isn’t any strong point in the tournament. Naseem Shah, I believe, performed well as a bowler because he’s naturally a hard-length bowler, and his batting was also good against India. I guess overall Naseem Shah is the player who performed really well as a bowler as well as a batter. Rest of the players were just fine," he said.

However, the former PCB chief didn't mince words when criticizing the overall team selection and performance.

"Several players are added to the team who perform like deadbeats, and just to reinforce that decision, you’re sending those players repeatedly because you don’t have any replacement. Leadership is not valued in this team; you are not letting them take any decision for the team. Retired players are added to the team because they have experience that is required in the World Cup, regardless of their attitude towards the captain," he said.

Raja emphasized the importance of merit-based decisions and cricketing sense, stressing that the team's reliance on outdated strategies and player choices hinders its potential.

"Until and unless you take decisions based on merit and cricketing sense, it is impossible for this team to rise again. Looking for sacrificial lambs to save your place is not the way you run cricket," he said.

The commentator also dissected Pakistan's batting and bowling performances in crucial matches against the USA, India, and Canada.

"In the first match against the USA, the team made so many mistakes. Against India as well, the team was not able to score 100 even. Also, in their face-off with Canada, the crowd expected Pakistan to end the game within 14 overs, but the team didn’t take any lessons from the previous matches. They should have bowled at a hard length on this pitch, but fast-bowlers failed to do so. Pakistan did well in bowling against India, and in its clash against Canada, bowling was good, but the batting was so-so," Raja concluded.

Wasim takes a dig at Pak team

Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has criticized the Men in Green following their exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is currently being co-hosted by the USA and West Indies. "Congratulations to Team USA, they have done amazingly well," Wasim Akram said.