Pakistan national cricket team Exit Sparks Fierce Backlash From Legends

After Pakistan withdrew from the T20 World Cup 2026, ex-players criticized the team. Although Pakistan won the last match against Sri Lanka by 5 runs, it didn’t make any difference because they were already out of the semi-final competition. Basit Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Akhtar criticized the management and captain Salman Ali Agha.

Basit Ali expressed his views in his YouTube channel. He said that Pakistan was in a very good position after the 176-run partnership between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, but in the last five overs, they lost eight wickets and could only manage to score 49 runs. Had they scored a few more runs, Pakistan would not have been eliminated. Basit said that the coach criticized Babar Azam, but why did he include him in the team? He said, "Don't call this Pakistan's team; this is Mike Hesson's (coach) team. This is what happens when the coach interferes in team selection." He alleged that good players like Usman Khan were overlooked because they were not the management's favorites.

Former captain Mohammad Hafeez said that this World Cup is enough to expose Pakistan's poor planning. Hafeez reminded that Pakistan faced the same fate in four consecutive ICC tournaments from 2023 to 2026. He said that Salman Ali Agha's captaincy has been a complete failure. Players who didn't deserve a place in the team were included. Hafeez warned that the country's cricket cannot survive solely on the PSL; decisions must be made on merit.