Pakistan’s disappointing exit from the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 has sent shockwaves through the cricketing world. After reaching the finals in the 2022 edition, this early dismissal marks a significant setback for the team.
Seasoned all-rounder Imad Wasim, who came out of retirement for the global showpiece event, minced no words in expressing his disappointment. Imad, known for his aggressive batting and handy spin bowling, reckoned this is a rock bottom moment for Pakistan cricket in recent times.
A call for change
In a scathing assessment, Imad called for drastic changes within the team. He feels Pakistan have fallen behind other teams in terms of their approach to the game. Whether it’s batting, bowling, or fielding, a significant improvement is needed across the board.
Imad emphasized the importance of a mindset shift. He believed that the current mentality isn’t conducive to winning in the high-pressure environment of T20 cricket. A more aggressive and adaptable approach is necessary to compete with the best.
“In my opinion, the reason for our defeat [In the World Cup] was our mindset. We need to take the fear of failure out of our minds and try something new. It is all about mindset, other teams have also changed their thinking, we are behind them because we didn’t change our way of thinking. It’s not my domain but I think there need to be changes. There should be a drastic change so that we can move forward and fight with world cricket in the way that cricket is played now,” said Imad in a press conference ahead of their last league match against Ireland.
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Takes responsibility of the defeat against India
Imad explained that the strategy against India was to extend the match as the New York pitch was challenging for batting. He acknowledged that he did not effectively implement this strategy.
“Our game plan [against India] was to take the chase deep. The wicket was tough to bat on. I let the team down because usually when I go in these situations, I stay very calm and finish the job. Finishing this chase was my job which I couldn’t do, and I am very hurt by that. But this is life, sometimes you make mistakes. I believe my planning was right but the execution wasn’t good,” added Imad.
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