ISLAMABAD – Former cricketers believe Pakistan road to qualification forthe 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinals, is just like climbing Mount Everestwithout a tank of oxygen.
As for CWC semis qualification, Pakistan needs to beat Bangladesh by amargin of over 300 runs on Friday, to trump New Zealand. Pakistan shouldbat first and must score 400 runs and dismiss Bangladesh for 84 runs.However if Bangladesh bats first, then Pakistan are out even before thegame begins.
Referring to the scenario, former skipper Rameez Raja said the hearts ofPakistani fans have been faded after hearing the news of Pakistan’s ousterfrom the CWC.
“Pakistan team needs to remove the unpredictability tag from them and mustshow consistent performance on regular basis,” he said on a YouTube channel.
He said Pakistan team must bring in changes after the CWC. “We need to lookfor batsmen and all-rounders for future,” he said and termed thePak-Bangladesh match a dead rubber, as it would not benefit any team.
Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar said he couldn’t understand how easily NewZealand gave away the match to England by 119 runs. “Kiwis approach was notgood while chasing England’s target of 305 runs,” he said.
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He said Pakistan not making it to the semis was green-shirts ownincapability to do so. “Pakistan was out of the tournament after losingtheir first match to West Indies by 7 wickets,” he said and added that itbecame difficult for green-shirts to recover after the WI loss.
He said Pakistan also went short while chasing Australia’s target of 307runs and went out for 266. “But there is always hope that something mighthappen and Pakistan makes it to the semis. Pakistan must now play for theirpride and beat Bangladesh in Friday’s game,” he said.
The pacer also hinted of revamping in the infrastructure after the CWC.“Match-winning players and visionary team management must be brought in toimprove the game,” he said.
Former cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq said New Zealand’s confidence had beenshaken after they lost the game to Pakistan by 6 wickets. “After the lossto Pakistan, New Zealand’s team had been stumbling,” he said and added thatEngland had gained momentum for the semifinals.
