Pakistan Cricket Board Defends Team Selection for T20 World Cup by Using Lionel Messi Example

Pakistan Cricket Board Defends Team Selection for T20 World Cup by Using Lionel Messi Example

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:13 PM
In this article:
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  • Pakistan have come under criticism from fans after they announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup
  • Lionel Messi is such a popular sports personality that he even gets linked with sports he does not play
  • The T20 World Cup kicks off on October 16 in Australia, with Pakistan and India playing on October 23

Pakistan are gearing up for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, but fans are unhappy with the current team selection.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have had to defend their team selection after many felt that they lacked experience in the middle order.

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Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja has defended the team selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup, adding that they didn't have Lionel Messi on the bench to call upon. Image: Arif Ali/ Joan Valls
Source: Getty Images

The middle order has failed of late to score runs, and Pakistan have had to rely on openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to score some of the runs.

Many fans believed that veterans like Shoaib Malik or Mohammad Hafeez could have been brought into the side to help strengthen the middle order ahead of the World Cup. Both players would also be able to boost the bowling line-up.

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PCB chief Ramiz Raja has now defended the team selection, saying that there were limited options when it came to selecting players, Indian Express reported.

“It’s not like we have Lionel Messi sitting on the bench and instead picked a worthless player in the team. We have limited options, Raja explained.”

He added that they had experimented with the senior players in the last T20 World Cup, and while he had no issue with it, they needed consistency in selection.

He further added that he believed Pakistan could win the tournament, given their current team.

Pakistan will open their campaign against bitter rivals Indian on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India vs Pakistan cricket. Which is the better country when it comes to cricket and why?

India and Pakistan are two of the best countries in the game of cricket and sports pundits and fans are always in a fix to determine who is better.

India has been good in cricket since they began participating in the sport in 1792, earning multiple awards that would take a lifetime for other teams to attain.

Pakistan has also been successful thanks to its competitive nature, towering over bigwigs like England and South Africa to clinch several World titles.

Authors
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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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