‘They have to find those players…’: Virender Sehwag on what Pakistan need to do to remain competitive in T20 cricket – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Former India opening batter Virender Sehwag has suggested that Pakistan need to find batters who can bat with a high strike rate to stay competitive in T20 cricket.

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan team was eliminated from the current ICC T20 World Cup during the group stage. They lost two crucial matches at the start of their campaign but managed to win their next two games. Despite this, they finished third in Group A with four points, behind India and co-hosts USA.

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Sehwag emphasized the need for Pakistan to develop more aggressive batsmen to compete at this level in the future. He pointed out that many of Pakistan’s batters tend to anchor the innings, similar to how Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan play.



“Now Babar Azam and the others have to go back and think about what the way forward is in the T20 format. This team may not be able to win matches against a good team even when they get a good wicket,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

“They have to play differently from the way that Babar Azam plays if they want to play in the next T20 World Cup, that is for sure. There are a few players who play with the same strike rate which is not good enough for T20. They have to find those players with high strike rates, whether it be from the PSL or domestic cricket. And those players have to be given chances. It’s not like Babar became the player he is today on his first day itself, he also took time to give consistent performances. So they have to give someone enough time,” Sehwag elaborated.



Sehwag also expressed his disappointment in how Pakistan narrowly won their final group game against Ireland.

“We didn’t think that (Ireland) would reach 106 runs and we also didn’t think that Pakistan would take 19 overs to chase that down,” former India batter Sehwag said.

“What have Pakistan done here, I don’t get it. Yes, they won but first they let them go from 32/6 to 106 and then it wasn’t like it was a very difficult wicket or that Ireland’s bowling was so good that you had to play so carefully in the chase.”



Sehwag noted that internal issues within a team can lead to poor performances, even though he admitted not knowing if such issues exist within the Pakistani squad.

“This is why we call them unpredictable, you can never tell if they will play well or poorly. In this World Cup they have been poor more often. I don’t know what their dressing room is like. If things are fine between the players. That also plays a role.”

“If there are players who are unhappy with the captain or if there are two or three groups within the dressing room and so on, that also plays a role, but I say you have to keep those things to the side and think for Pakistan. This match shouldn’t have gone on for so long. But fine, at least they won it,” Sehwag added.

Sehwag’s comments highlight the need for Pakistan to rethink their strategy in T20 cricket. He calls for identifying and fostering talent that can play an aggressive game, thus increasing the team’s chances in future tournaments.