Junaid Khan, Shoaib Akhtar rip Pakistan to shock defeat against Ireland

Pakistan suffered an embarrassing defeat against Ireland in the first T20I of the three-match series on Friday, May 10 at the Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin. The defeat has not gone down well with fans and former cricketers who are bashing players left, right and center for their dismal performances just ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Expressing their displeasure on their social media, former Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Shoaib Akhtar were dismayed as Babar Azam and his men recorded Pakistan’s first defeat against Ireland in their T20I history. Akhtar was left speechless by Pakistan’s performance and posted a few angry emojis on his X account.

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On the other hand, Junaid said it was time for serious discussions regarding the team’s performance after a drawn series against an inexperienced New Zealand team and now a shocking defeat against Ireland.

“We need to seriously check what mistakes are being made. With an event of this magnitude coming up, the team is in trouble. Initially we only managed to level the series with a weaker New Zealand team and now we have lost our first t20 against Ireland. A serious discussion is necessary,” wrote the former fashion designer on his pseudonym X.

Andrew Balbirnie starred in the run for Ireland

Coming back to the match, after being put into bat first, Pakistan posted a good score of 182/6 in their allotted 20 overs. The visitors were rocked by an early defeat in the form of their opener Mohammed Rizwan who departed for 1(4). However, contributions from Saim Ayub (45 off 29), Babar Azam (57 off 43) and Iftikhar Ahmed (37* off 15) helped Pakistan cross the 180-run mark. In response, Ireland chased down the scoring in the penultimate delivery of the match, with captain Andrew Balbirnie top scoring with 77 (55).

Meanwhile, after being down 0-1 in the series, Pakistan will look to make a comeback in the second match on Sunday, May 12 at the same venue. The Babar Azam-led team doesn’t have much time to regroup as they take on England in a four-match series starting May 22, followed by the all-important match T20 World Cup 2024 starting June 2.