Pakistan lost two extremely close matches, first against India on the final ball and then against Zimbabwe, also on the final delivery. After his country secured a thrilling win against the Asian biggie, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa mocked Pakistan by referring to a 2016 incident. “Next time, send the real Mr Bean," he tweeted.
Asif Mohammad, a Mr Bean impersonator, was invited to Zimbabwe in 2016 for performances. According to media accounts, the Pakistani artist's comedy presentation was a complete failure. The concert cost $10 per ticket and offered little value in and of itself. Despite being referred to as "Mr Pak Bean", he didn't perform alone; rather, he joined other local musicians and put on a pretty poor show.
Also Read: India will lose semi-final next week, predicts 'frustrated' Shoaib Akhtar
Prior to the match, many Zimbabwe fans demanded a “revenge" for the 2016 events. Mnangagwa joined in as well. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif replied to him on Twitter and said, “We may not have the real Mr Bean, but we have real cricketing spirit .. and we Pakistanis have a funny habit of bouncing back."
Shoaib Akhtar, who was visibly-upset by Pakistan's loss, uploaded a video on his own YouTube channel. He claimed that he was so furious that he might say something inappropriate. He claimed that he had long ago prophesied that Pakistan would return home this week. He claimed he had little faith in the team's potential because, in his opinion, they were unable to consistently win games.
“Is this where our cricket has come to? We can’t score 130 runs against a low ranked team like Zimbabwe. If this is our batting quality then God help our cricket," Former Test opener Mohsin Khan said.
Also Read: Why is everyone talking about Mr Bean after Pakistan’s T20 loss to Zimbabwe?
The former head coach, who also served as chief selector, added that Pakistan didn’t show any intent.
“Zimbabwe bowlers were disciplined and persistent and it was clear they wanted to win this match more then us," he said.
Test great Javed Miandad also questioned the player selection.
“This is what happens when you allow non-performing batter to remain in the team and keep deserving players out.
"I have said it before that international cricket is not a place for learning and unfortunately every time the team has done badly we have tried to sweep it under the carpet by saying they are learning," Miandad said.
Miandad said that Pakistan’s approach to the chase was disturbing as no batter appeared to be geared towards finishing the match.
“Seeing the way some of our batters threw their wickets away was shameful because they are professional cricketers."
Former captain Rashid Latif said Thursday’s result had left the World Cup wide open and made it more interesting.
“It has become a very difficult situation for Pakistan now to qualify for semi finals but overall it makes the tournament open and shows you can’t take any team lightly nowadays," he added.
Also Read: Virat Kohli ‘all-time great’, Sourav Ganguly says after India’s thrilling win
Ex-skipper and opener Salman Butt also slammed the team’s performance and also questioned Babar's captaincy.
“These players were not just equipped to play well in Australia and once Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam didn’t get going the writing was on the wall for us," he said.
“I have been saying all along you don’t make someone a captain so that he can learn while playing and leading the national team. You only appoint someone as captain when you know he has the required leadership qualities to lead the other players well."
Also Read: Pakistan’s defeat against India in 2007 T20 World Cup Final changed our batting style: Misbah ul Haq
Former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim said all the dreams of Pakistani cricket supporters and fans to watch their team play in the final of the World Cup had been shattered in just one match because of poor captaincy and a timid approach from the batsmen.
“It is a sad and disappointing day for Pakistan cricket to lose to Zimbabwe like this. Our cricket is not really that bad that we should get such a result."
Can Pakistan still qualify for T20 World Cup semi-finals?
Pakistan must win each of their final three games. Plus, in order to sustain a positive net run rate, the men in green must win in each of the three games by a substantial margin.Then, they need to hope that other outcomes favour them, such as South Africa losing to Pakistan and India. Zimbabwe should lose two of their remaining three matches against India, Netherlands and Bangladesh. At the same time, Bangladesh should lose another match. If all these conditions are met, Pakistan may still qualify for the semi-finals.
(With agency inputs)
