Pakistan‘s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 has ended prematurely, marking the third time they have been eliminated in the league stage of the tournament. Their performance throughout the event was disappointing, resulting in an early exit.

Pakistan’s torrid performance in the T20 World Cup 2024

Pakistan’s journey in the tournament started disastrously with a shocking loss against the United States of America (USA). Despite being a more established cricketing nation, Pakistan struggled both with the bat and ball against the associate team. The match culminated in a super over, where Pakistan failed to chase down 18 runs, setting the tone for their troubled campaign.

The next fixture saw Pakistan face off against their arch-rivals, India. Despite dominating much of the match, Pakistan faltered in the final moments, allowing India to secure a narrow six runs victory. This defeat further dented Pakistan’s chances of advancing to the Super 8 stage, leaving them in a precarious position.

Early exit from the tournament

With two consecutive losses, Pakistan’s fate was no longer in their own hands. They needed a favorable result from the match between Ireland and the USA. However, a washout in that game sealed their fate, as Pakistan fell short on points and could not progress. Pakistan did manage to register wins against Canada and Ireland, but these victories were insufficient to keep their tournament hopes alive. Their overall performance was not enough to qualify for the next stage, leaving fans and analysts alike disappointed.

The cricketing community has been reacting to Pakistan’s underwhelming performance and failure to reach the Super 8 round. Former Indian cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Harbhajan Singh offered their insights and critiques.

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Sanjay Manjrekar’s analysis

Speaking to Star Sports, Manjrekar attributed Pakistan’s exit to their lackluster performance. He highlighted that the United States’ victory over Pakistan was a crucial factor in the latter’s elimination. Manjrekar pointed out that Pakistan, historically known for their unpredictability, have become more predictable due to their declining performance levels. He suggested that the current team does not possess the same capabilities as previous Pakistani sides, leading to diminished expectations from fans and critics alike.

“Beating Pakistan is the only reason why the USA is in the Super 8 and Pakistan is not. Pakistan has made it into the finals over the year and has been an unpredictable team. But nowadays it is a bit more predictable because of its low performance and the low performance is directly related to the ability of the team,” Manjrekar said.

“Look at their team individually and compare them [players] with India and Australia, it is not the team it used to be. Mohammad Amir is not what he was. Shaheen Shah Afridi is not what he was. Harish Rauf is on a downward curve. Shadab Khan is also not performing. It is better to not talk about their batting. This is the team which failed to get in the Super 8 so do not hope for much from Pakistan cricket team,” Manjrekar concluded.

Harbhajan Singh’s perspective

Harbhajan echoed similar sentiments, stating that Pakistan did not deserve to qualify for the Super 8 given their subpar cricket during the tournament. He praised the USA for their impressive run and considered them a better team compared to Pakistan in this tournament.

“The Pakistan cricket team had their fate in their own hands and the kind of cricket they have played (in the T20 World Cup 2024), they were not deserving to progress (in the tournament),” Harbhajan said.

He also applauded the USA’s run in the tournament and called them a better team than Pakistan, “The USA played better cricket than them. They played one match twice on the same day first of 20 overs then of six balls and defeated Pakistan in both. They won outstandingly and it was not a fluke,” Harbhajan concluded.

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