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Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has slammed Pakistan for their liking and disliking culture while selecting the national team following their exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup. Malik also slammed the Men in Green for their lack of game awareness in crunch situations.
The 42-year-old added that players don’t even follow the process to overcome their hurdles. He believes that the root cause of that is in the domestic arena, which has led to their downfall in international cricket.
The reaction came as Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the ongoing edition of the ICC event. The Men in Green lost to co-hosts USA by five runs in a Super Over before losing to India by six runs in a low-scoring thriller.
Babar Azam and Co. registered their first win against Canada but were reliant on other results to progress to the next round. A washout between Ireland and the USA fixture led to their ouster before their final game, though. Speaking to Ten Sports Pak, Shoaib Malik said:
“I still have an association with cricket. I play only (domestic) T20 cricket with Pakistan, and I played the last one as well. I have played for the Sialkot team. I felt miserable that our players coming through the ranks have no game awareness. It’s our best tournament after PSL. There is too much bad condition at the bottom level.
“We can’t come out of liking, disliking; it’s our culture. It’s developed over the years. But please the players with merit who don’t have someone to speak for them, they don’t get chances. I feel miserable about it. You should at least have game awareness.”
He added:
“Losing or winning is secondary against associate teams but you should look dictating in terms of playing the game. There is no game awareness at lower levels and we can see that with the Pakistan team as well.
"When the match enters crunch situations, there is no game awareness. At least you should know the process of how to cross the hurdle. Here the players don’t even know the process as well."
“There are gangs, friendships” – Ahmed Shehzad slams Babar Azam-led Pakistan
Ahmed Shehzad recently accused Babar Azam and Co. of picking his friends over raw talents. He said (via Geo News):
"We don’t play cricket to win bilateral series but to win ICC events. Did we win any event in the last 4-5 years? If we didn’t win, I would say there are gangs, friendships and tola with an agent, who has been manipulating cricket for the last 4-5 years.
"Speaking of Babar Azam, there is friendship. Look, he is carrying players from a long run. The players are out of form for a long time. It doesn’t look good. I think that because of friendships, they decided that they are the ones (to dictate). It's okay but you have to keep the nation first."
The 32-year-old cited the lack of an ICC trophy under his leadership over the last few years.
"When C, D, E teams came (in Pakistan), you didn’t give them enough opportunities. So, how you can evolve bench strength? How do you prepare them for the future?” he added.
Pakistan face Ireland in their last group-stage game - now a dead rubber - in Florida on Sunday, June 16.
