'Poor decisions are to blame'

JAVED MIANDAD

Javed Miandad wrote a column that appeared on the ICC's media zone yesterday, where he spoke about the Pakistan team. Miandad said the think-tank made some erroneous decisions which have led to a very poor Pakistan side.

"An ill-planned Pakistan went down against archrivals India, and alarm bells began ringing loud and clear. I can't remember a weaker Pakistan side playing in any of the past ICC Cricket World Cups than the one at this tournament. It's not because other teams have got stronger, but because Pakistan have ignored more deserving players like Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali and Zulfiqar Babar.

“There seems to be a lack of planning from the Pakistan think-tank for such a mega event. It's not a bilateral five-match ODI series in which the team can experiment in one or two matches. Pakistan doesn't have much confidence in their batsmen and barring captain Misbahul Haq, the rest are still struggling to get used to the conditions in Australia and New Zealand."