ISLAMABAD: Former cricketers believe Pakistan road to qualification for the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinals, is just like climbing Mount Everest without a tank of oxygen.
As for CWC semis qualification, Pakistan needs to beat Bangladesh by a margin of over 300 runs on Friday, to trump New Zealand. Pakistan should bat first and must score 400 runs and dismiss Bangladesh for 84 runs. However if Bangladesh bats first, then Pakistan are out even before the game begins.
Referring to the scenario, former skipper Rameez Raja said the hearts of Pakistani fans have been faded after hearing the news of Pakistan’s ouster from the CWC.
“Pakistan team needs to remove the unpredictability tag from them and must show 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 look for batsmen and all-rounders for future,” he said and termed the Pak-Bangladesh match a dead rubber, as it would not benefit any team.
Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar said he couldn’t understand how easily New Zealand gave away the match to England by 119 runs. “Kiwis approach was not good while chasing England’s target of 305 runs,” he said.
He said Pakistan not making it to the semis was green-shirts own incapability to do so. “Pakistan was out of the tournament after losing their first match to West Indies by 7 wickets,” he said and added that it became difficult for green-shirts to recover after the WI loss.
He said Pakistan also went short while chasing Australia’s target of 307 runs and went out for 266. “But there is always hope that something might happen and Pakistan makes it to the semis. Pakistan must now play for their pride 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 to improve the game,” he said.
Former cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq said New Zealand’s confidence had been shaken after they lost the game to Pakistan by 6 wickets. “After the loss to Pakistan, New Zealand’s team had been stumbling,” he said and added that England had gained momentum for the semifinals.
