ICC T20 World Cup 2016: Waqar Younis claims Pakistan are 'not good enough' to play in semi-final
Pakistan coach and bowling legend Waqar Younis has delivered a scathing message to his team, claiming they are "not good enough" to play in the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2016. The Men in Green were outclassed by New Zealand in their Group 2 encounter on 22 March, losing by 22 runs at Mohali.
Pakistan, who have won just one game, out of three played, are almost out of contention for a place in the knock-out stages. However, if they beat Australia in their final group game and other results go their way, they might just sneak through.
Waqar Younis did not sound confident of his team while speaking to the media. "If you (media) say, we will keep our hopes up, our hopes high, but the way we have been playing we don't deserve to go through to the semi-final", he said as quoted by Wisden India.
"I can't say what injection we need, but the selectors will have to pay attention to this performance. They will have to find out what players this team needs, once again, not good enough."
"If I go into detail, there will be a lot of issues, about first-class cricket too. But we will have to start by solving the immediate problems, you have to be able to adjust in T20, you have to be adaptable. Those who were shouting about not getting to bat in the position they want, this was their perfect opportunity. We were just not good enough. You can cry all you want, you can talk all you want, we are just not good enough, people have to take a hard look at themselves."
When asked about his future, with his contract up for renewal post the ICC T20 World Cup 2016, the former bowler was unsure about how things would end up. "I don't know, I think a lot of things need to be told to the cricket board also — what is going wrong. I have said that in the past also, it's not the first time I am saying it. But I will go back and make people understand, people who are in control, if they agree or don't agree it is entirely up to them."
The Men in Green's ICC T20 World Cup campaign has been shrouded in controversy ever since they landed on Indian shores. Security concerns had forced authorities to shift the high profile India and Pakistan match from Dharamshala to Kolkata and skipper Shahid Afridi has faced a lot of criticism from both experts and fans back home over his "love India" comment.
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