Ahmad Shahzad Criticizes Pakistan’s T20 WC Performance and Calls for Accountability

Former Pakistan cricketer Ahmad Shahzad criticized the Men in Green’s performance at the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, accusing some players of trying to deflect attention from their poor performance by holding “unnecessary press conferences.”

In the T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan concluded their campaign with a three-wicket win over Ireland in Florida during the Group Stage, which was a dead rubber as arch-rivals India and USA from Group A advanced to the Super 8 stage.

Ahmad Shahzad expressed his disappointment on his official X account, stating that players were using religious rhetoric to cover up their lackluster performance.

“It is really disappointing that some players are hiding their poor performance in the World Cup by holding unnecessary press conferences and playing the religion card. Where does religion go when they lie about their fitness and when they admit they were acting on the field? Does religion teach you to deceive others and lie in the field? You are paid to perform on the field and you join the grouping in the team instead.

Religion teaches us to fulfill our responsibility with full determination and not to lie about our suffering. Some spokespeople for these players want them to be given another chance, but why? This is the Pakistan team and it is not their home team where they can play. If they want another chance they can make their own team and play with their friends but not for Pakistan cricket team anymore,” Shahzad wrote on X.

The former cricketer added that he would ensure fans get answers and that “serious actions” are taken against these players.

“We will not let PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi forget the big surgery he promised. Some players of the Pakistani team are now even mocking the chairman’s statement because they don’t care. But we will make sure that fans get their answers and action is taken against these players. We have taken a stand and we will not back down until this Pakistan team is back on the right track,” he added.

Placed in Group A, Pakistan suffered consecutive defeats against co-hosts USA and their bitter rival, India. Although they bounced back with two consecutive wins against Canada and Ireland, it was not enough to secure a spot in the Super 8 as they ended in third place in their group during the league stage, missing out on net run rate.