“Current ranking shows actual condition of team”: Ramiz Raja questions Pakistan’s chances of lifting T20 WC

New Delhi [India], May 11 (ANI): Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman slammed the Men in Green after Ireland clinched their maiden T20I win over the Asian Giants in the first T20I of the three-match series.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, Pakistan have been trying to find the right combination by tweaking their squad.

After struggling against New Zealand in the T20I series last month, Saim Ayub showed signs of improvement with a quick-paced knock of 45(29).

The middle order once again failed to make an impact and provide stability to Pakistan’s innings with Fakhar Zaman (20) Azam Khan (0) and Shadab Khan (0) combined to add just 20 runs on the scoreboard.

Pakistan were a high-ranked team when they made it to the final of the T20 World Cup two years ago. But amid their recent performances, the Babar Azam-led team have dropped to seventh position on the ICC T20 Ranking and Ramiz feels that their current position reflects the situation of Pakistan.

“You can’t defend losing against Ireland. The body language looks weak, you have made combinations that have affected the team. The team was doing well, but the captaincy was changed and then the new captain was replaced with the previous one. In a World Cup year, the team has fallen to seventh position in the T20I rankings and this shows the actual condition of the team,” Ramiz said on his YouTube Channel.

The former cricketer went on to question the need to implement the changes in the squad that have contributed to their mixed bag of performances. Ramiz questioned Pakistan’s chances of winning the tournament with the way they have played the sport recently.

“How will Pakistan win the World Cup, you don’t have a combination, the opening pair is not set, the set batters lose their wickets and the middle order doesn’t function well. In the current situation, how will Pakistan go to the semi-finals?” Ramiz said.

“You know the capability of the team and you want them to play like India, Australia or you want to produce a player like Travis Head. The middle order is not set. Top stars are leaking a lot of runs,” he added.

Despite facing a fair share of trouble with the bat, Pakistan managed to put a competitive total of 182/6 on the board.

But defending the total became a challenging task with bowlers struggling to find their rhythm. Full toss and overpitched deliveries were a constant theme lingering in Pakistan’s bowling as they failed to defend the total.

Pakistan will look to keep the series alive as they face Ireland in the second T20I on Sunday at the Clontarf Cricket Club.