"Comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli"- Danish Kaneria lashes out at Pakistan skipper and PCB

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following the Men in Green's group-stage elimination from the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Danish Kaneria targeted senior batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for their underwhelming performances in major tournaments.

The Babar Azam-led team commenced their T20 World Cup campaign with a loss against the United States of America (USA). The Men in Green then lost to arch-rivals India in their second match. They secured victories against Canada and Ireland in their next two matches but failed to advance to the Super 8 stages.

The Rohit Sharma-led team finished at the top of the Group A table with three victories and one no-result. The United States of America secured a Super 8 berth after gaining one point from their match against Ireland in Florida. The co-hosts of the T20 World Cup earned five points at the end of the group stage.

You Select The Useless Team - Danish Kaneria

Speaking to SportsNow, Danish Kaneria expressed frustration at the comparison between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. Kaneria slammed the PCB for selecting a ‘useless team’ for the ICC event and stated that the team overrelied on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

"You select the useless team and repeatedly depend on Babar-Rizwan, Babar-Rizwan, what is this? Till when we will tolerate these names. Whenever any major tournaments come, they fail to create that impact. They only score runs against teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland and they start comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli," Kaneria told SportsNow.

None of Pakistan's top seven batters scored at a strike rate of 130 in the T20 World Cup. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan failed to capitalize on their experience. Babar scored 122 runs at an average of 40.66 with a strike rate of 101.66, while Rizwan amassed 110 runs at an average of 36.66 with a strike rate of 90.90.

Gary Kirsten Is Not A Magician - Danish Kaneria

Danish Kaneria said that newly appointed head coach Gary Kirsten needs more time to bring about positive changes in Pakistan cricket. Kaneria emphasized that Kirsten cannot instantly transform the team, as he requires a lot of time to understand the politics and plan strategies accordingly.

"You decided to bring in a new coach, Gary Kirsten, who helped India win the World Cup and cannot do wonders in just a few months. He's not a magician. In Pakistan cricket, politics is everything. Gary will need a lot of time to understand the politics and accordingly, he'll start working," Kaneria added.

Gary Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan's head coach for white-ball formats ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. As per media reports, Kirsten stated that there's no unity in Pakistan's team and added that he has never seen such a situation in his career. Kirsten further commented that the players aren't supporting each other.

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