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3 min readFeb 9, 2026 12:26 AM IST
T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan were almost stunned by the Netherlands in their tournament opener in Colombo. (AP Photo)
Former Pakistan cricketers Basit Ali and Kamran Akmal have slammed the way the team almost lost their T20 World Cup opener to the Netherlands before Faheem Ashraf rescued them and helped them to a three-wicket victory with three balls to spare.
“Pakistan bach gaya bhai! (Pakistan just about survived). When Shaheen Shah Afridi is called in to bat, you can imagine what Pakistan batting did in that game. Bad batsmanship by the middle order, especially Babar Azam, Nawaz and Shadab Khan. These are experienced players. They have played not just in leagues across the world, but also in the Pakistan Super League. Today, they did not become heroes for Pakistan, they ended up being zeroes,” former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali said.
“Who is a match changer in the Pakistan team? What are you going to say to a country’s fans that get happy when a wicket falls just because it means that Babar Azam will come to bat. But then Babar comes and goes. Today’s star for Pakistan was Faheem Ashraf, who came in at No 8. Baaki batsman chanafali bech rahe the kya?(Were the rest of the batters selling peanuts?)”
Kamran Akmal also had some sharp words for the Pakistan team.
“This match should have been won easily. Instead they won it with three balls to spare. This was not an ideal start. Faheem ne bachali Pakistan ki izzat. (Faheem saved Pakistan’s blushes) We have already seen what Team USA can do against India. If their bowlers are fit, Pakistan will have to work hard to defeat them. I don’t understand why Pakistan find themselves in such situations against such teams all the time. Once in a while it’s fine. India were also in trouble against USA. But Pakistan get into trouble against such teams every two days. If a big team has a bad game once in five or 10 years, that’s fine. Yeh toh mazaak hi ban gaya hai team ka. (The team has become a joke).
“It seems like we have been saying the same things for the past seven years or so. The world’s teams have raised their level. Why don’t we have any clarity? I’m sure the gameplan has been conveyed by the coach, but the players don’t have the guts! Or the game awareness!” Akmal added.
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