As Pakistan get set for their clash against Netherlands on Sunday (October 30) in Perth, pace bowler Haris Rauf opened up on the disappointing start to the campaign and how his team are preparing themselves for the remaining three matches of the T20 World Cup 2022. Haris on Saturday revealed that the Men in Green are focusing to concentrate on their upcoming games rather than looking over the criticism they received after the shocking defeat against Zimbabwe in their Super 12 clash.
Former Pakistan cricketers including the likes of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and more slammed the Men in Green labelling the loss against Zimbabwe as 'Embarassing'.
"It is people’s job to talk, so they will talk. You face criticism in any sport you play," Rauf told reporters as per Sportstar.thehindu. (PAK vs ZIM: 'Embarrassing, to be polite', Shoaib Akhtar and fans react as Babar Azam's Pakistan lose to Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup 2022)
"We have come here to play a tournament and our focus is on that. So we try not to listen to them (ex-players and pundits) much and play our game. Even some positive talk can hurt you and negative talk can also hurt you."
There were fingers raised at the middle-order selection of the Pakistan side by former cricketers while other questioned Babar Azam's captaincy calls.
"We haven’t had the kind of start that we wanted. But the team morale is good. There is hurt but we have belief in each other’s abilities. We have bonded well, sat together and tried to address our mistakes," he said.
"There is no weak or strong team in a World Cup. Everyone playing an international game and has come to win the cup," he added ahead the Pakistan vs Netherlands clash.
Haris Rauf responded to the question regarding criticism of ex-players and said we are not taking any team easy.
VC: ICC#PAKvNED | #Cricket | #Pakistan | #HarisRauf | #T20WorldCup | #Perth pic.twitter.com/4aRhhADRNF
— Khel Shel (@khelshel) October 29, 2022
T20 World Cup 2022: How can Pakistan qualify for the semifinals?
Remaining fixtures of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022
Pakistan vs Netherlands (October 30)
Pakistan vs South Africa (November 3)
Pakistan vs Bangladesh (November 6)
Following their shocking defeat against Zimbabwe on Thursday (October 27), Babar Azam's Pakistan have slipped down to the fifth position of the Group 2 T20 World Cup 2022 with 0 points under their belt and a net run-rate of 0.050. However, the Men in Green have 3 matches to be played still and in order to qualify for the semifinals, Pakistan need to win all their remaining matches in spectacular fashion so they end up with a better net rate than the other sides. However, if any of the other sides end up with a better runrate and more than six points in the end, Pakistan will be out of contention to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022.
