Pakistan captain Salman Agha says his team underperformed and will not make an emotional decision on his future after their T20 World Cup exit.
KANDY: Pakistan captain Salman Agha said his team had “underperformed” after they exited the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Agha held back from making an immediate decision on his future as skipper, calling it an “emotional” choice.
Pakistan were knocked out on net run rate despite beating Sri Lanka in their final Super Eights match. A rained-off opener against New Zealand and a defeat to England left them needing a massive win over Sri Lanka to advance.
“We have underperformed in the whole tournament,” Agha told reporters. “We are out of the semis due to our failure in decision-making in pressure situations.”
Opener Sahibzada Farhan became the only player to score two hundreds in the same T20 World Cup as Pakistan posted 212-8. “Farhan was outstanding in the tournament but none of the other batters could come up to expectations,” said Agha, who managed only 60 runs in seven matches.
Sri Lanka scored 207-6 in reply, losing by five runs. Skipper Dasun Shanaka hit 76 not out off 31 balls with eight sixes, but Pakistan failed to restrict them to 147, the margin needed for New Zealand to progress instead.
Head coach Mike Hesson and Agha took responsibility for the team’s selection. “I will go back and take some time to decide,” Agha said about his captaincy future. “Because at this point of time stepping down would be an emotional decision.”
