- Ramiz Raja doubts Pakistan’s victory in T20 World Cup.
- Pakistan failed to defend 183 runs against Ireland.
- Pakistan has dropped to seventh in T20I rankings.
Ex-Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja has expressed doubts about the ability of the Babar Azam-led team to win the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2024, given their disappointing performance in the first T20I against Ireland.
Pakistan’s efforts fell short as they were unable to defend a target of 183 runs, which Ireland successfully chased down in the final over with a ball to spare.
During the first innings, the team led by Babar Azam struggled to set a competitive total. However, Iftikhar Ahmed’s skill in the lower order enabled them to score 182 runs.
Despite this, Ireland emerged as the victors of the match, leading to questions about Pakistan’s readiness for the World Cup, which is set to commence on June 1 in the United States.
Raja, in his YouTube channel, stated that there is no justification for the loss against Ireland. He also touched upon the issue of changing captains.
“You can’t defend losing against Ireland. The body language looks weak, you have made combinations that have affected the team. The team was doing well, but the captaincy was changed and then the new captain was replaced with the previous one. In a World Cup year, the team has fallen to seventh position in the T20I rankings and this shows the actual condition of the team,” Ramiz said on his YouTube Channel.
The former PCB chairman then raised the question of how Pakistan could possibly win the World Cup when they haven’t even got their team combinations sorted out.
“How will Pakistan win the World Cup, you don’t have a combination, the opening pair is not set, the set batters lose their wickets and the middle order doesn’t function well. In the current situation, how will Pakistan go to the semi-finals?” Ramiz said.
