Pakistan's T20 World Cup Hopes Dwindle Amid Criticism from Former Players

Pakistan's dismal performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup has drawn sharp criticism from former players, including Salman Butt. The team's hopes of reaching the 'Super 8' stage now hinge on favorable results from other matches.

After a shocking defeat to USA in their opening match, Pakistan lost to India despite being in a commanding position for much of the game. They managed to beat Canada in their third match, but with only two points from three games, they need to win their remaining match against Ireland and hope for other results to go their way.

Butt has slammed captain Babar Azam and his team for their lackluster performances. He questioned their self-proclaimed status as "king" and "world's best fast bowler," referring to Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, respectively.

"Are you able to win a match on your own? Is there a standing of our team?" Butt asked. "It's similar to those YouTube thumbnails that you are enticed to click and open once."

Butt also criticized the influence of social media campaigns on decision-making in Pakistan cricket. "Besides its good things, one bad thing about social media is that you can get anything done by paid campaigns...your decisions are based on paid campaigns," he said.

He urged the team to "stay who they are" and focus on winning matches before making grand proclamations. "First win a match, a big tournament, fight it out to win against a big team, finish a match single-handedly, then think what you want to proclaim," Butt added.

Butt highlighted the mental toughness of the Indian team, which he believes Pakistan lacks. "India is very different from us...Their mental superiority is winning them matches...They don't feel the pressure now like they used to earlier," he said.

"But we haven't grown. There are changes in cricket every year, but we are not growing with that, so we are getting weaker. The other teams are growing, mentally as well."

Tags: #T20WorldCup, #PakistanCricket, #SalmanButt, #BabarAzam, #ShaheenShahAfridi