T20 World Cup 2022: "They weren't able to forget the 152/0 against India" - Salman Butt blasts Pakistan after back-to-back losses
Former cricketer Salman Butt believes that Pakistan's complete focus was on winning their opening encounter against arch-rivals India at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.
He questioned the Men in Green's approach, pointing out how they can't win the World Cup just by beating the Men in Blues. The former captain opined that Babar Azam and Co. hadn't recovered from the hangover of their thumping 10-wicket win over India at last year's showpiece event in the UAE.
Butt made these remarks while speaking on his YouTube channel following Pakistan's heartbreaking one-run loss to Zimbabwe on Thursday, October 27. He said:
"World Cup is not about beating India. To win the cup, you have to beat all the teams. If you want to be happy just by winning your game against India, then this time they even lost that clash. If that's the approach, there's no point.
"A few statements indicated that this was indeed their approach because they weren't able to forget the 152/0 against India."
Babar and Co. have had a disastrous start to the competition, suffering defeats in their first two fixtures. Their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals look gloomy at the moment, given that their fate now lies in the hands of other teams.
Pakistan failed to chase down Zimbabwe's modest total of 130 in Perth, suffering a narrow one-run loss in the last-ball thriller. Several fans and experts have slammed the side for their underwhelming batting performances at the T20 World Cup 2022.
"You must also highlight their mistakes" - Salman Butt on Pakistan captain Babar Azam's dressing room speech
Babar Azam delivered a heartfelt speech in the dressing room after Pakistan's four-wicket loss to India. The skipper motivated his teammates following the defeat by refusing to blame an individual player for the undesired result.
Butt, however, questioned Babar's approach, stating that he should pinpoint the on-field mistakes for the side to improve. The 38-year-old suggested that the captain backing his players is fine, but he must also shed light on what went wrong.
He added:
"These are the general statements that all captains give. There is nothing special about it. But I would like it more if he was able to tell the facts and pinpoint their mistakes.
"Everyone knows that it is your team and you are the skipper and you have to back your players. That's absolutely fine. But you must also highlight their mistakes."
Zimbabwe win by one run in Perth.
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Pakistan, who are yet to get off the mark in the points table, are currently languishing in the penultimate position in Group 2. They are slated to take on the Netherlands in their third match of the competition on Sunday, October 30.