A day after Pakistan were officially eliminated, all-rounder Imad Wasim admitted that the 2024 T20 World Cup felt like the lowest point for the team during his career span.
A shock defeat to USA and a heartbreaking loss against arch-rivals India meant that qualification fate was taken out of Pakistan’s hands. While they managed to beat Canada, they needed USA to lose both their remaining fixtures while also needing a win against Ireland themselves. As it turned out, USA did lose to India but shared points with Ireland after a washout, which allowed the tournament co-hosts to progress at the expense of Pakistan.
While expressing disappointment at his team’s elimination, Imad maintained that his side wouldn’t let its guard down in spite of the Ireland fixture being a dead rubber for all practical purposes.
“Yes, this is the lowest point. You can’t go any lower than this. That’s the fact.” Imad said. “I know we’re out of the tournament and it’s hard for the players but at the end this is an international game, a World Cup game so we won’t take anything lightly.
“We will go out there and play for the country and play for the pride of our country which we already did but unfortunately the results we can’t control it. Yeah, but we go out there and play like it’s a World Cup game.”
Imad’s own performances in the tournament have come under the scanner. Notably in the defeat to India where he wasn’t able to go through the gears despite getting a positive matchup to face in Axar Patel whose exceptional over proved to be turning point of the implosion.
Imad, promoted up the order to stabilise the chase apart from maintaining the left-right combo, struggled for impetus through his innings and his failure to take down Axar only added fuel to the raging criticism. The all-rounder came into the tournament on the back of a strong Pakistan Super League season where he had handled many nervy finishes with the bat. In such a scenario, expectations were high for Imad to deliver at the biggest stage.
Imad Wasim was unable to take down his match-up, Axar Patel, in the chase against India. ©Getty
Contrary to popular opinion, Imad defended Pakistan’s approach in that run chase although it didn’t work out in the end but also accepted that the loss to India would haunt him forever.
“The game plan was to take the ball deep. The wicket was not good to play. It was a little difficult. Unfortunately, my plan was going according to plan but not execution.
“Because usually when I bat, I take the ball deep. And if I hit any boundary on either end, the game would have been different. Having said that, he [Axar] did very well in bowling and he did it on the spot. He didn’t bowl too badly. Usually, under pressure, bowlers give you a ball and there is a margin. But I think I was taking the game deep and I was hoping that a new batsman would come and for that it is virtually impossible. But Naseem hit two good shots.
“That 17th over, I think, I feel that the move of the runs in that over was a turning point. It’s unfortunate that it happens, it’s an incident but it was a big game. Our team and I are more disappointed than you are. I let [the team] down because usually when I go in this situation, I am very calm and finish the job. And this was my job to finish which I couldn’t do. I will regret this and I still regret it. But this is life. Sometimes you make mistakes. But life is like that, sometimes you make mistakes. So, you can say that this was a phase in my life which I unfortunately could not achieve. I will regret it, but my execution was not good.”
Imad, alongside Mohammad Amir, were surprising additions to Pakistan’s World Cup squad, given that the duo had to reverse their T20I retirements. However, both had outstanding PSL seasons and their experience playing in CPL was seen as another factor in their call-up. With the campaign ending in embarrassment, questions about their future have swirled around once more.
“As far as retirement is concerned, there’s a match tomorrow. We’ll play a match. And obviously, after that, we’ll think about it and sort out whatever we need to. Because to be honest, a lot of things are going to be sorted out in the Pakistan team. The chairman and the board will sort it out.
“We have given away two games by ourselves. We have given away the match by ourselves not because of an individual, but collectively, because of team effort, we gave away the match by ourselves. There is no excuse for that. Losing to USA, well, losing is a part of the game, but we shouldn’t have lost to USA. Even against India – we had that game in our hands and we shouldn’t have lost. So, there is no excuse for anything. We are losing matches collectively.
“And I will tell you again that we never lose a match because of one or two individuals. Matches are lost because of the whole team. Whether someone does it well or not, that’s why it’s called team sport. If it was an individual, anyone can blame anyone and everything can be taken out of the rest. But you have to sit and think where mistakes are happening, how are they happening, why are they happening and you have to sort it out.
“After the match against Ireland – we will sit down and talk and then decide. I don’t do anything secretly. I told everyone when retired last time – If something happens, I will come and tell everyone,” Imad added.
Pakistan’s approach to the shortest format and their team selections have been the topic of debates for a while now. Skipper Babar Azam’s own form and his intent with the bat has headlined a plethora of batting issues for the team including their batting order. During difficult times, criticism is inevitable but Imad agreed that it is the time for introspection for the team.
“When you fall, how do you get up and approach the world? And how do you react? That is what we have to see now. It is a very sad thing. But, who knows, it could be a big thing for Pakistan cricket. Revamp it, revisit it and play it the way white ball cricket should be played. So, me personally and our team, including me, are very disappointed and sad. And the whole public is sad that we didn’t perform well and we are to blame for it. But I would also like to say that we are human beings, we can make mistakes and we are also saddened by these things.”
Without giving away too much of his opinion, Imad urged Pakistan to play a fearless brand of cricket to match the top sides in the world. When asked what kind of changes should be made to the setup, the all-rounder chose to keep mum but hoped that a revamp would be done for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.
“It’s not my domain, what I think, that’s what I think, it’s not my domain to do things, but I think there should be changes and there should be a drastic change so we can move forward and fight with the world cricket how the cricket is playing. That’s what I can say.”
