Pakistan cricket is going through turbulent times since, to put it mildly, their recent results have been mediocre. They are nursing their wounds following a miserable performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, losing to hosts India and debutants the USA in the opening round and crashing out.
The poor performance of Pakistan at the major event has drawn harsh criticism from both professionals and fans. Former Pakistani cricket players have advocated for a new beginning that gives bright young players in the team chances rather than the underperforming veterans. Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Rizwan are two of the more seasoned players that have come under investigation.
They are currently in the news for the wrong reasons again after a social media video of them labouring against a rookie pacer quickly went viral. In the video, it is evident that young right-arm pacer Nouman Khan Khaira is giving Rizwan and Iftikhar a lot of trouble with his bounce and pace.
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For their troubles against the youthful seamer, fans attacked Rizwan and Iftikhar.
“These local boys should be taken into the Pakistani team and those playing for the side should be rested,” stated a user on X.
One person on Instagram joked, “They even struggled against part-time software engineers of the USA.”
Rizwan & Iftikhar even struggling against the local net bowlers.
The embarrassment 😮💨pic.twitter.com/VIKvWd287r
— M (@anngrypakiistan) July 4, 2024
Shameful. Embarrassing. They were portrayed as some sort of ‘World’s Best’
Gutter standards we have https://t.co/Y9Hp9SfAdP— Areeba (@arieba_chaudryy) July 4, 2024
At the T20 World Cup last month, Rizwan scored 110 runs from our matches with a strike rate of 90.90 and an average of 36.66. Iftikhar, on the other hand, only participated in a few games but scored 23 runs overall.
What’s next for Pakistan?
In August and September, Pakistan will play a two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh while wearing the whites. The series’ opening game is slated for Rawalpindi, August 21–25, and its second game, August 30–September 4, is set in Karachi.
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In the World Test Championship (WTC) points standings for the 2023–2025 cycle, Pakistan is presently ranked fifth. They will aim to win the series with full points from Bangladesh, who are currently going through a transitional period due to the unavailability of several of its more seasoned players.
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