After the co-hosts shocked the Babar Azam team at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Sanjay Manjrekar observed, “USA have climbed Mt. Everest, while Pakistan have hit rock bottom.” Pakistan’s debut performance in the competition was a disgraceful one as they lost to the USA in Super Over by 5 runs. The 2022 runners-up, who are competing in their first-ever T20 World Cup, were unable to defeat the USA.
Despite having a seasoned bowling lineup, the Babar Azam side’s batting performance was appalling as they only managed to pick up 3 wickets in the USA innings after reaching 159/7 in the game’s opening 20 overs.
Manjrekar expressed his disdain for Pakistan following their unsatisfactory performance in the opening game and claimed to have lost faith in the country the day before. Manjrekar commented on Star Sports following the game that Pakistan’s players appeared to be club-level cricket players.
“So early to reach such a peak as far as international cricket is concerned, winning this game. You have got one team like USA reaching Mt. Everest while Pakistan have really hit rock bottom. I have not seen a worse performance from Pakistan. This is not just about the defeat. The review, the Super Over from Mohammad Amir, the misfields when the pressure was on. It hurts me to see this because when I played against Pakistan they were world champions, they have hit rock bottom now,” Sanjay Manjrekar said
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, came under fire from Manjrekar, who said that Pakistan’s issues stemmed from his defensive style. Despite playing franchise and international cricket for so long, Manjrekar also accused Mohammad Amir of lacking maturity.
“Over time, they have experienced a few downturns. Pakistan’s dissatisfaction is a tale unto itself. India is not listed as one of the upsets for the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan’s current cricket players appeared to be club players based on their level of play. Because their top-order batsmen gave their innings much too much respect and believed that 150 was a respectable score, Babar Azam was able to play the manner he did. At that point, my regard for Pakistan truly diminished. Having come for the experience, Mohammad Amir began the Super Over with a wide ball. It was awful,” Manjrekar declared in closing.
After losing to the USA, Pakistan is currently facing certain difficulties. Their next match will be at the Nassau County Stadium in New York against India.
