Xplorich
Pakistan’s disastrous ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign has reportedly been compounded by internal disagreements and a tense atmosphere within the squad, with media reports alleging friction between players and team management.According to reports in Pakistani media and discussions on social media, disagreements have surfaced within the camp following a string of poor results. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.Pakistan slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat of the tournament after suffering a crushing 113-run loss to Australia at Headingley in Leeds on Tuesday. The side is yet to register a victory since arriving in Ireland ahead of the World Cup and had also gone winless during the tri-series involving Ireland and the West Indies before the tournament.As per news agency PTI, reports claimed there was a major disagreement between team mentor and unofficial head coach Wahab Riaz and captain Fatima Sana over selection matters. One report alleged that before the Bangladesh match, Sana objected to senior player Aaliya Riaz’s husband staying in her hotel room, leading to him being asked to vacate.“It was on Sana’s insistence that Ali Younis was asked to vacate the room. Then, on the day before the game against Bangladesh, Aaliya and her husband went out for sightseeing when there was a team practice scheduled,” one report said.The same reports further claimed that Sana wanted Aaliya dropped from the Bangladesh game, but Wahab insisted on her selection. Following the defeat, Sana reportedly blamed Wahab for not enforcing disciplinary standards.
Fatima Sana admits Pakistan played ‘worst cricket’
Amid the off-field speculation, captain Fatima Sana candidly admitted her side’s struggles after the heavy defeat to Australia.“I think we just played our worst cricket in this game, and as a whole team we need to accept that. We need to go back, reflect, and improve ourselves,” Sana said after the match.Despite the disappointing campaign, Sana felt Pakistan’s preparations before the tournament had been encouraging.“Personally, I think we got a lot of good practice in before coming here, but we still need a response from the team. That’s what we need right now. Otherwise, we had some really good practice sessions and preparation,” she said.The skipper also praised the bowling unit, particularly spinners Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal.“I think our bowling was very good, especially the way we started. Nashra and Sadia bowled really well, which was awesome. We just need more players to support them because we struggled in other areas. We have good players and they can perform, but we need more contributions from everyone,” she said.Pakistan, who also finished bottom of the standings at last year’s 50-over World Cup, will now look to salvage some pride when they face the Netherlands in their final Group A fixture.
