Public, media pressure to blame for team's poor performance: Sethi
Former PCB chairman insists no team can play under the kind of tension our team plays in
Najam Sethi. PHOTO: AFP
A day after Pakistan crumbled to their second straight defeat in the World Cup, former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi came to the team's defense, placing the blame on media and public pressure.
“No international team plays under the kind of tension our team plays in owing to media and public pressure,” Sethi said on Sunday.
Admitting the team’s performance has been poor till now, with the 1992 champions at the bottom of Pool B after losing both matches against West Indies and India, the former PCB chairman said, “We admit the team’s performance has been disappointing, but just ponder over your reactions and how they affect the team’s motivation.”
Read: West Indies bounce back with 150-run rout of Pakistan
“Under this pressure, no team can play,” the former PCB chairman said in an apparent reference to mock funerals and protests held across the country to demonstrate frustration with the national side.
Read: #PakvWI: Flopped, dropped and mocked
Residents of Multan organised a symbolic funeral procession on Saturday, replete with a coffin with several cricket bats placed over it, directing their anger at the national team after a poor start to the tournament that has also seen it defeated by arch-rivals India.
Read: Disappointed fans stage mock funeral for cricket team after defeat
Elsewhere in the country, disappointed fans staged their own protests, some burning effigies of captain Misbahul Haq and Shahid Afridi.
However, shifting blame for the team's back-to-back defeat on the PCB chairman himself, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan alleged Sethi was made the chairman of the cricket board as a 'gift,' according to Express News.
Meanwhile, former paceman Shoaib Akhtar said, “I have not seen a more coward and selfish captain than Misbah."
Read: I've never seen a coward captain like Misbah, says Shoaib Akhtar
“He is not willing to bat up the order to protect the other players at a time when he needs to show inspiration.”
However, the captain himself said their faltering World Cup campaign needed improvement across the board.
“It’s a do or die situation for us and there are no ifs and buts,” Misbah said as he tried to look ahead to Pakistan’s next game against Zimbabwe, while sifting through the wreckage of Saturday’s crushing loss.
Read: Do or die time for Pakistan, says Misbah
“We just lost in all three departments,” Misbah admitted. “We couldn’t bowl well, a lot of dropped catches, and the batting totally flopped.”
On Saturday, Chasing the West Indies’s first innings total of 310 runs, Pakistan gave up its first four wickets for just one run — the worst start in one-day international history — before eventually losing by 150 runs.
Correction: An earlier version of the story erroneously mentioned Najam Sethi as the current PCB chairman.
“No international team plays under the kind of tension our team plays in owing to media and public pressure,” Sethi said on Sunday.
Admitting the team’s performance has been poor till now, with the 1992 champions at the bottom of Pool B after losing both matches against West Indies and India, the former PCB chairman said, “We admit the team’s performance has been disappointing, but just ponder over your reactions and how they affect the team’s motivation.”
Read: West Indies bounce back with 150-run rout of Pakistan
“Under this pressure, no team can play,” the former PCB chairman said in an apparent reference to mock funerals and protests held across the country to demonstrate frustration with the national side.
Read: #PakvWI: Flopped, dropped and mocked
Residents of Multan organised a symbolic funeral procession on Saturday, replete with a coffin with several cricket bats placed over it, directing their anger at the national team after a poor start to the tournament that has also seen it defeated by arch-rivals India.
Read: Disappointed fans stage mock funeral for cricket team after defeat
Elsewhere in the country, disappointed fans staged their own protests, some burning effigies of captain Misbahul Haq and Shahid Afridi.
However, shifting blame for the team's back-to-back defeat on the PCB chairman himself, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan alleged Sethi was made the chairman of the cricket board as a 'gift,' according to Express News.
Meanwhile, former paceman Shoaib Akhtar said, “I have not seen a more coward and selfish captain than Misbah."
Read: I've never seen a coward captain like Misbah, says Shoaib Akhtar
“He is not willing to bat up the order to protect the other players at a time when he needs to show inspiration.”
However, the captain himself said their faltering World Cup campaign needed improvement across the board.
“It’s a do or die situation for us and there are no ifs and buts,” Misbah said as he tried to look ahead to Pakistan’s next game against Zimbabwe, while sifting through the wreckage of Saturday’s crushing loss.
Read: Do or die time for Pakistan, says Misbah
“We just lost in all three departments,” Misbah admitted. “We couldn’t bowl well, a lot of dropped catches, and the batting totally flopped.”
On Saturday, Chasing the West Indies’s first innings total of 310 runs, Pakistan gave up its first four wickets for just one run — the worst start in one-day international history — before eventually losing by 150 runs.
Correction: An earlier version of the story erroneously mentioned Najam Sethi as the current PCB chairman.