Pakistan’s poor show in the ongoing World Cup 2023 has led to a massive uproar back home. The former cricketers continue to point out flaws in the team management and the Pakistan Cricket Board, holding them responsible for the team’s disappointing performance in the ongoing showpiece event.
Joining the bandwagon, former captain Misbah ul Haq has slammed the pre-World Cup scheduling of the Pakistan cricket team. Speaking on A Sports’ show ‘Pavilion’, Misbah stated that improper planning has been a major factor behind the team’s struggling campaign.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
“The first thing that came to my mind after looking at the schedule was, ‘Good Luck to the Pakistan team.’ It would be a big thing if the players would enter the World Cup without injuries. The players had to travel from Pakistan to Sri Lanka – to and fro. They also played a bilateral series before the Asia Cup. You are the hosts and your team is suffering the most,” Misbah said.
“I always say the team management should be on board during the schedules are finalized. The skipper, coach and people from the management should be present while signing the MoU before travelling to other countries.
“Instead if you blindly agree to what’s coming your way then this is what will happen,” he added.
Misbah further stated that continuous travel left the Pakistan players fatigued which was the reason why a fierce bowling attack turned toothless in a matter of a month.
“So, we just saw how poor scheduling has affected the Pakistan team. We went from unplayable to toothless attack in a month due to fatigue. Their bodies didn’t respond well in the matches and they looked clueless,” he said.
Pakistan’s bowling under scanner
Prior to the beginning of the tournament, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said his bowling unit is the strength of the team. But the reality turned out to be completely different. The absence of Naseem Shah also hurt Pakistan in the World Cup as the remaining resources were badly exploited by the opposition, almost in every game.
Here’s how the frontline bowlers of Pakistan performed in the World Cup so far:
Shaheen Shah Afridi – 16 wickets in 8 games, 409 runs
Haris Rauf – 13 wickets in 8 games, 469 runs
Shadab Khan – 2 wickets in 4 games, 180 runs (didn’t bowl against South Africa)
Hasan Ali – 9 wickets in 6 games, 321 runs
Mohammed Wasim Jr – 8 wickets in 3 matches, 141 runs
Pakistan gear up to play their last league-stage game on Saturday afternoon.
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