Pakistan veteran Mohammad Hafeez said the men in green are determined to fight for a spot in the 2019 World Cup semis after being hurt by their dismal show in the tournament.
Sarfraz Ahmed’s side are just above bottom placed Afghanistan after winning one game so far and are in need of a miracle to make it to the last-four.
The 1992 champions need to win their remaining four games and require other results to go their way external in order to qualify for the knockout phase.
Fellow strugglers South Africa will be the next team to challenge Pakistan and Hafeez believes that his team is determined to stage a come-back.
“I tell you that to see the team at number nine is hurting all of us,” Hafeez, whose 84 anchored Pakistan’s innings of 348-8 in their only win over England, was quoted as saying by AFP.
Pls dont use bad words for the players yes u guys can criticise our performance we will bounce back InshAllah we need ur support 🙏🙏🙏
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) June 17, 2019
Pakistan have lost to Australia and India to go with their humiliating defeat to West Indies in their first game. They will be hoping to win against New Zealand, Bangladesh and Afghanistan that follow the crucial tie against the Proteas.
“We failed collectively as a team,” said Hafeez. “We could not produce a team effort and individual brilliance did not help us either. In cricket these days, you need a team performance.”
“We can’t blame any single person. Everyone is responsible for failing to deliver,” added the 38-year-old, who said harsh media criticism after their heavy defeat against India on Sunday had been tough on the players.
“All of us are also hurt by the negative campaign in the media where players and their families were targeted. There was talk of groupings (factions) in the team which was wrong.
“Why don’t you talk about such things when the team is winning?”
Hafeez said despite the perilous situation, all is not lost for Pakistan.
On behalf of all athletes I would like to request media and people to maintain respect levels in regards to our families, who should not be dragged into petty discussions at will. It’s not a nice thing to do
— Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (@realshoaibmalik) June 17, 2019
“All is not finished for us,” he said. “We are focused on our next game and we are eager to win that match. We had ample time after the India game to regroup for a new beginning.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan – who led Pakistan to their 1992 World Cup win – had urged his team to bat first against India. But Pakistan sent India to bat first and suffered a comprehensive defeat. Hafeez supported his team’s decision.
“It was a team decision and that cannot be made on what someone has tweeted. It was the team’s decision. We didn’t bowl well and that’s why we lost that game,” he said.
