Ex-Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir delivered a forthright critique of Pakistan’s recent collapse against Afghanistan in a crucial 2023 World Cup match on Monday in Chennai.
During an interview with Star Sports, Gambhir was candid, pinpointing three critical flaws that, in his opinion, contributed to Pakistan’s demise. To begin, he called attention to Pakistan’s ongoing fielding concerns, something he remembered addressing at the Asia Cup.
“You can have a bad day in bowling or batting, but not in fielding. This has been going on since the Asia Cup and the department has still not improved. I believe Pakistan are the most ordinary fielding team in this World Cup,” he observed.
Gambhir then proceeded to highlight Pakistan’s obvious difficulties when facing spin bowling. He emphasised how, despite playing on a spin-friendly ground, none of their three spinners took any wickets. He remarked that given the pitch’s condition, which was free of dew and geared to aid spinners, the fact that none of their three spin bowlers got a wicket is troubling.
He further expressed concerns about Pakistan’s batting order situation, “the third concern is Pakistan’s batting. Pakistan’s top five batters are similar types of batters. They don’t have a batter apart from Iftikhar Ahmed who can take the game head-on,” he said.
In his closing remarks, Gambhir urged Pakistan to adopt a more dynamic and combative batting style in order to remain relevant in contemporary cricket.
“Cricket is not the same as it was in the 1990s or 2011, where you score 270 or 280 runs and think that your bowling will defend that,” he said, criticizing the Pakistani team on their low scores.
After suffering a major loss against Afghanistan, Pakistan team’s performance against South Africa on October 27th will be crucial in determining their advancement to the Semi-Finals.
