"Lost due to pressure" - Ramiz Raja on why Pakistan failed to beat India at T20 World Cup 2022
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes that the Men in Green suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of India at this year's T20 World Cup as they failed to handle the pressure.
Speaking on his YouTube channel on Monday, December 26, Raja suggested that overanalyzing the situation had cost Pakistan the crucial match. He, however, lauded Team India's Virat Kohli for playing a splendid knock under pressure to seal victory for his team.
Raja explained:
"Virat Kohli played an outstanding knock against Pakistan. It was a world-class innings. He played some very tough shots despite the pressure. In Pakistan, we tend to overanalyze things.
"India required 16 runs to win in the final over. So if they hit four boundaries or three sixes to win from there, all we could have done was salute them. However, Pakistan overanalyzed the situation and lost due to pressure."
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Notably, while the Babar Azam-led side lost to India by four wickets in the opening fixture, they bounced back to reach the all-important final. However, they failed to lift the trophy, losing the summit clash to England by five wickets.
"Shaheen Afridi was not 100 percent" - Ramiz Raja on the Pakistani pacer's participation in the T20 World Cup
Ramiz Raja disclosed that left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi did not fully recover from his knee injury ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
He stated that the team management took a chance by adding him to the squad considering the importance of the competition. Raja was quick to mention that Afridi was also keen to play in the ICC event.
He, however, admitted that the board wasted a few days by making the fast bowler travel with the team despite his injury. Raja added:
"Shaheen Afridi was not 100 percent. He had his own apprehensions regarding where he wanted to get fit. I believe that we wasted 10–15 days initially. But you've got to take a chance with such players at the World Cup. If your best player is even just 75 percent fit, you have to take a chance in such tournaments.
"Imran Khan did the same at the 1992 World Cup, bowling with an injured shoulder. Even Javed Miandad was not fully fit during the 1992 World Cup and was struggling with a back spasm. Shaheen Afridi himself wanted to play. He is a superstar. We must give him credit for giving it his all at the T20 World Cup."
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Afridi emerged as one of the top performers with the ball for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup 2022. With 11 wickets from seven matches, the speedster finished as the leading wicket-taker for his side.
Also Read: "This is the first time that he has gone through such a phase" - Ramiz Raja on Babar Azam's captaincy