Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Babar Azam and Co. were dumped out of the ICC T20 World Cup. Runners-up in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, Babar's Pakistan kicked off its campaign with an embarrassing defeat at the hands of co-hosts the United States of America (USA) in Group A.
Pakistan were then outclassed by arch-rivals India in the low-scoring encounter. With India extending its unbeaten run in Group A, USA eclipsed Pakistan in the Super 8 race by sealing the second spot. While India and the USA advanced to the business end of the ICC event from Group A, Babar's Pakistan bowed out of the T20 World Cup after defeating Ireland in its final fixture on Sunday.
Reflecting on Pakistan's disastrous campaign at the grandest stage, former spinner Kaneria lashed out at the PCB for relying heavily on Babar and selecting a ‘useless team’ for the ICC event. Kaneria also mentioned critics comparing Babar with batting icon Virat Kohli in his explosive criticism of the beleaguered Pakistan side.
{{/usCountry}}Reflecting on Pakistan's disastrous campaign at the grandest stage, former spinner Kaneria lashed out at the PCB for relying heavily on Babar and selecting a ‘useless team’ for the ICC event. Kaneria also mentioned critics comparing Babar with batting icon Virat Kohli in his explosive criticism of the beleaguered Pakistan side.
{{/usCountry}}"You select the useless team and repeatedly depend on Babar-Rizwan, Babar-Rizwan, what is this? Till when we will tolerate these names. Whenever any major tournaments come, they fail to create that impact. They only score runs against teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland and they start comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli," Kaneria told SportsNow.
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Pakistan head coach Gary Kirsten also reportedly pulled no punches in his evaluation of the team's performance. As per media reports in Pakistan, Kirsten claimed that there's no unity in Pakistan's team. Kirsten guided India to its second World Cup title triumph in 2011. "You decided to bring in a new coach, Gary Kirsten, who helped India win the World Cup and cannot do wonders in just a few months. He's not a magician. In Pakistan cricket, politics is everything. Gary will need a lot of time to understand the politics and accordingly he'll start working," Kaneria added.