Kirsten lambasts Pakistan's fractured unity, says 'I've have never seen such a situation'

Babar Azam and Haris Rauf of Pakistan interact during the ICC Men`s T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 match between Pakistan and Canada (Pic: AFP)

In a scathing criticism of the beleaguered Pakistan cricket team, head coach Gary Kirsten has said that there is "no unity" in the side and he has "never seen such a situation" in his long coaching career.

Kirsten's criticism follows the Pakistan's team's group stage exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies.

Entering the tournament as runners-up from the previous edition, the Pakistan team produced one of its worst performance in recent years and ended the event with a consolation win over Ireland, having suffered a shock loss to newcomers USA before biting the dust against traditional rivals India.

According to media reports in Pakistan, Kirsten, who guided India to ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, pulled no punches in his assessment of the team after being eliminated from the ongoing T20 showpiece.

"There's no unity in Pakistan's team. They call it a team, but it isn't a team. They aren't supporting each other; everyone is separated, left and right. I've worked with many teams, but I've never seen such a situation," Kirsten said as per reports quoting a senior scribe.

Geosuper.tv 4 quoted sources as saying that Kirsten had expressed his displeasure over the fitness level of the players. The former South Africa opener also said the team is far behind in terms of skill level as compared to the rest of the world.

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After Pakistan's defeat to India, Kirsten put the team's loss down to poor decision-making.

"Disappointing loss, that's for sure," Kirsten had said.

"I knew 120 was not going to be an easy target. If India got only 120, it was always going to be not the easiest. But I think we had the game at 72 for 2 with six or seven overs left. Disappointing not to get across the line from the position we got ourselves into."

On Sunday, Pakistan beat Ireland by three wickets in their last match of the T20 World Cup, which was held at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.

Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2024 defeat to the USA and loss to India meant they were eliminated from the event before the conclusion of the group stage matches.

The win against Ireland ensured that Pakistan finished third in Group A with two wins from four games.

(With agency inputs)