New Delhi: Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha said they cracked when opposition teams put pressure on them in the T20 World Cup, leading to their exit from the T20 World Cup in the Super 8 stage.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by five runs in Pallekele on Saturday but both teams were ousted after which Agha took responsibility for their underperformance.
“If you see the entire tournament, we have under-performed. In the 20 over game, we played 18 overs very well, and the other team is allowed to lay two overs well. But, yes our last three overs execution was not good,” he said after the match.
“We have done better bowling than this in the past. We are a better bowling unit. We were missing our execution. …we will take full responsibility. Why not?
“Because we were involved in selecting the team and we were responsible for the players. I will take responsibility and I’m sure the coach will also take.”
Continued failure
Agha pointed out that their repeated inability to dominate in crucial moments of matches cost them dear but didn’t divulge if he would leave captaincy.
“And the same thing I told them, we have to take better decisions when we are under pressure. Because basically, you make mistakes under pressure. And in ICC events, the pressure is high because you’re playing against the best teams in the world,” Agha said.
“Every game is very important because if you lose a game, it feels like you are out of the tournament. So, I think when you are under pressure, you have to make good decisions.
“…you are absolutely right that we didn’t reach the semi-finals in the last four ICC tournaments. The reason is that we have to increase (better) our game playing under pressure. And when the pressure increases, how to improve our decision making. I think that matters more right now.
“Because whenever there is pressure, I think our decision making is not as good as it should be. When you come to the World Cup or ICC events, there is always pressure. If your decision making is not good under that pressure, then the result will be like this.
“We haven’t played as well as we should have in the World Cup. Any decision taken right now will be emotional. We will go back and take some time and then make the required decision,” he added.