"They only score runs against teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland"- Danish Kaneria launches scathing attack on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria slammed stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for underwhelming performances in major tournaments and against stronger opponents. The commentw came after the side's embarrassing exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The Men in Green had a tournament to forget with defeats to minnows USA and arch-rivals India to open their campaign. Despite winning their final two outings against Canada and Ireland, the damage had been done and Pakistan were eliminated from the competition before the Super Eight stage.
Talking to SportsNow, Kaneria questioned Pakistan's team selection and overdependence on the Babar-Rizwan batting combination.
"You select the useless team and repeatedly depend on Babar-Rizwan, Babar-Rizwan, what is this? Till when we will tolerate these names. Whenever any major tournaments come, they fail to create that impact. They only score runs against teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland and they start comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli," said Kaneria.
Kaneria also feels newly appointed head coach Gary Kirsten will need more time to set things right in Pakistan cricket.
"You decided to bring in a new coach, Gary Kirsten, who helped India win the World Cup and cannot do wonders in just a few months. He's not a magician. In Pakistan cricket, politics is everything. Gary will need a lot of time to understand the politics and accordingly he'll start working," added Kaneria.
Gary Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan's head coach before the 2024 T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Babar and Rizwan endured a disappointing campaign, averaging 40.66 and 36.66 at strike rates of 101.66 and 90.90, respectively.
"It is a shameful thing in the history of Pakistan cricket" - Danish Kaneria
Danish Kaneria further blasted all the key stakeholders of Pakistan cricket by questioning the exclusion of several domestic stars not getting consistent opportunities for the national side.
Pakistan have retained a similar core over the last few years in ICC events and even brought back Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim from retirement.
"It is a shameful thing in the history of Pakistan cricket. Apart from cricket, these people have doomed every other sport. There are tons of players making headlines with their performances but are not getting a chance to play for the national team," said Kaneria.
He also blasted the side's preparations for the Mega Event by saying:
"You are going to play the World Cup in USA, we have never played cricket here and it requires a lot of time to get used to the conditions. Knowing all Of that, Pakistan went on to play England and Ireland where conditions are different to USA. Still, you have the guts to refuse to play in warm-up games in the United States."
Pakistan barely won against a lowly Ireland team 2-1 and lost 2-0 to England in the two away T20I series before the World Cup.
The Men in Green were among the very few teams that opted not to play warm-up matches.