Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha admitted that the team’s middle order remains a major issue after their exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka national cricket team in their final Super Eights match at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday but failed to reach the semi-finals.
The 2009 champions had only one point from two matches before this game. Their match against New Zealand national cricket team was washed out.
Pakistan needed a big win over Sri Lanka to improve their net run rate and qualify along with group leaders England cricket team.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 212 for 8 in 20 overs. The total was built on a 176-run opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman.
Pakistan were 200 for 3 after 18 overs. However, they lost five wickets in the last two overs and scored only 12 runs.
The middle order again failed to deliver. None of the middle-order batters scored a half-century in the tournament.
Pakistan’s overall performance in T20 World Cup 2026
After the match, Agha spoke about the team’s overall performance.
“We couldn’t bat well throughout the tournament. If Farhan had more support, it would have been better. Middle order has been a problem for a few years now, we’ll have to look at that,” said Agha at the post-match presentation.
Pakistan needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or less to qualify. Sri Lanka reached 207 for 6.
Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka scored half-centuries to guide the chase.
‘Coach and I will take full responsibility’: Salman Ali Agha
Agha said the dew made things difficult for his team. He also supported spinner Usman Tariq, who gave away 43 runs in four overs without taking a wicket.
He also said that any decision to step down from the captaincy after exit from the World Cup would be emotional.
“Was always challenging after losing the toss because of dew. Could’ve been a different story had we won the toss. Dew was a factor. We couldn’t execute plans. Usman had an off-day; it can happen,” Agha stated.
“Couldn’t finish the way we wanted to. We batted well 18 overs, opposition did well in the other two. Even 160 would’ve been difficult to defend,” he added.
Speaking later at the press conference, Agha said he and head coach Mike Hesson accept responsibility for the team’s performance.
“If I have to sum up the whole tournament, I think we played below-average cricket,” said Agha.
“We haven’t qualified for the semi-finals in the last four ICC tournaments because we haven’t made the right decisions at crucial moments.
“The coach and I will take full responsibility for this performance.”
