KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has rejected the idea of wholesale changes in the squad due to poor performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Pakistan are on the verge of elimination from the 10-team tournament as they have eight points from the same number of matches and need to win with a very heavy margin against England to qualify for the semi-finals.
Green Shirts are scheduled to play their last group match on Saturday and they should claim victory with an “impossible” margin to top New Zealand’s net run rate (NRR).
India, South Africa and Australia have already booked their place in the mega event’s semi-final and as of now three teams, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Pakistan, are fighting for the one vacant slot.
As things stand, the Black Caps seem to be in a dominating position to qualify and they are followed by Pakistan while Afghanistan’s position is the weakest courtesy of their negative NRR.
Amid all the backlash on the team, Wasim Akram is of the view that the current lot of players is the best Pakistan have right now.
He was responding to a question about an overhaul in Pakistan cricket like England did after the 2015 World Cup debacle, when they were knocked out in the group stage.
“Do we have the players? Do we have a Plan B? I don’t think so. These are the best players we have and we have to stick with them,” Akram said on a local sports channel.
It is also important to note that other than players, the team management is also at war with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Team director Mickey Arthur warned against witch hunting while chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from his post and blamed the PCB chief Zaka Ashraf for all the mess.
