Pakistan for the past few years have been considered as the ‘dark horses’ on the global stage. They’ve had disappointing ends to their ODI World Cup campaign in 2023 and the T20 World Cup campaign in 2024. Their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign was even more disastrous as they failed to get past the league stage.
The team trained hard in military camps ahead of the T20 World Cup, videos of which did the rounds on social media, but the end result was not quite what they had expected. They endured a shocking loss against the USA in the group stage which derailed their campaign. Gary Kirsten had joined the team just weeks before the global event, but the 2011 ODI World Cup winner coach couldn’t help Pakistan‘s cause much.
Ricky Ponting Comes Down Hard On Pakistan Cricket
Along with Gary Kirsten, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) roped in Jason Gillespie as their bowling coach on a two-year contract. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi lavished praise on the former Aussie quick and entrusted his belief on him. This is Gillespie’s first stint as the coach of an international Test side. Ricky Ponting while speaking in the ICC Review said that he was very happy for his former teammate also touched upon how Pakistan’s rigidity costs them.
ALSO READ | Ponting reveals big detail about cricket at Olympics, wants to mentor
‘We’ve got a few WhatsApp groups over the years, all of us old guys that have played together. So everyone’s congratulated him (Gillespie) and wished him luck in that role. And look, to be honest, I am not surprised at all by the amount of changes in that group. I know it is a different format but they had a very disappointing T20 World Cup. If you are not willing to make some changes, you’re expecting similar results to come your way‘, Ponting said.
ALSO READ | Ricky Ponting Makes Big Prediction About IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Pakistan, Champions Trophy And Controversy
There is no shying away from the fact that there are security issues in Pakistan. The ICC has entrusted Pakistan with the hosting rights of the Champions Trophy, but India’s participation is highly doubtful. In 2023, when the Asia Cup was played in Pakistan, India had opted for a hybrid model and something similar has to happen, if India express their interest of playing the Champions Trophy.
#Disappointing #Ricky #Ponting #Rips #Pakistans #Cricketing #Culture #Mincing #Words
