Pakistan's T20 World Cup disaster - Here's what went wrong

Team Pakistan (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign ended on Saturday without reaching the semi-finals, exposing many of the team’s weaknesses. From captain Salman Agha, who was criticised for not being suited to T20 cricket, to slow batting and underperforming all-rounders, Pakistan struggled to keep up with the top teams. Former wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal said there is a big gap between Pakistan and sides like India, West Indies, South Africa, and England.

All eyes on how India handle pressure and pitch vs West Indies | T20 World Cup 2026

"Other teams have evolved to the demands of Twenty20 cricket, but neither our team nor our players meet those standards," Akmal told AFP. "It is like other teams are playing on the moon and we are on earth. We only beat smaller teams but lose to top teams." Pakistan had high hopes after sweeping Australia 3-0 in a pre-tournament series. They had five spinners who should have been ideal for the turning pitches in Sri Lanka. However, their campaign started shakily, with a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands thanks to Faheem Ashraf’s 11-ball 29. The match against India was another low point. Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first, which backfired as India scored 175. Pakistan’s batters failed under pressure, and former player Basit Ali questioned the captain’s decisions, especially holding back Usman Tariq, their key spinner. Tariq’s delayed overs allowed Ishan Kishan to score 77 and set up India’s 61-run win. "How on earth did you bowl at a venue which was suited to batting first," questioned former Pakistan player Basit Ali. "After India scored 175 our batters failed to handle the pressure of a chase." Agha repeated similar mistakes against England, holding back Tariq again, allowing Harry Brook to score a century. "It was weak captaincy from Agha," said Akmal, who also took aim at the head coach Mike Hesson and the selectors. "We were also not helped by head coach Mike Hesson, who has an obsession for bit-and-pieces all-rounders who were neither complete bowlers, nor good batters." Star batsman Babar Azam also struggled, scoring too slowly at number four, which disrupted Pakistan’s rhythm. He was dropped for the final match against Sri Lanka, where Pakistan finally scored over 200, but it was too late as New Zealand progressed on net run rate. Fan Saud Baloch said, "We are all fans of Azam but he disappointed us by not adapting to the demands of T20 cricket," said one Pakistan fan, Saud Baloch, who resigned from his job in the United Arab Emirates to go to the World Cup. "The whole Pakistan fandom is not only disappointed but angry. "But we know nothing will change and we will continue to mourn such defeats in future."

Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and keyseries stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.

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