Pakistan’s T20 World cup preparation took a major hit as they lost a home series to England 4-3. This has forced many to question the Men in Green’s credentials for the mega event as the visitors were missing many key players such as skipper Jos Buttler and star all-rounder Ben Stokes.
This defeat also comes on the back of them losing last month’s Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka despite the Babar Azam-led side being the overwhelming favourites coming into the match. With some obvious problems such as their middle-order and injuries to key players emerging, it has forced many to wonder if the 2009 Champions are capable of lifting the trophy in Australia.
After the end of the series decider in Lahore on Sunday (September 11), Pakistan captain Babar expressed confidence in his team and backed them in the press conference. However, it was a comment stating ‘ye khubsurti hei cricket ki, kabhi aap jeete hain kabhi aaj harte hei‘ (‘This is the beauty of cricket; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” which went viral on social media.
Cricket fans were not impressed by the comments in the wake of Pakistan’s poor run of form going in to a big tournament. The Men in Green skipper was trolled on social media as many compared his comments to head coach Saqlain Mushtaq‘s remarks after the 6th T20I when a clip of him saying “Day and night, summer and winter, rains.. they are all natural. Just like that, sport is also the same. Win and loss will be there. We need to accept it, and we do. It’s natural, what can we do?” was widely shared on social media.
Pakistan will now travel to New Zealand for a tri-series starting later this week which also features Bangladesh. Babar & co. will begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals India on October 23 in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
