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Pakistan's batting all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed admitted that his side's spin department has been ineffective in the ongoing World Cup 2023 and is one of the major reasons behind their hat-trick of defeats.
Pakistan lost to Afghanistan in an ODI for the first time on October 23. The loss has put their semi-final hopes in jeopardy. In the absence of an unwell left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar could not do any damage to the Afghan batting in the middle overs. Even when Nawaz has played, he has been ordinary and has been taken to the cleaners.
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"We do have finger spinners in our team, including me and (Mohammad) Nawaz. Yes, the role of our spinners hasn't been that effective here. But we will keep trying to improve. That's all we can do," he told reporters after the loss in Chennai.
Pakistan set a target of 283, courtesy of the partnership between Shadab Khan and Iftikhar. While skipper Babar felt that the total was defendable, Iftikhar believes that it was a 300-plus track.
"Frankly speaking, this was a wicket of 300-plus. But, their bowlers did trouble us. As a batting unit, we need to improve," the 33-year-old said.
Apart from their bowling, Pakistan's fielding was way below par as they leaked boundaries that helped release pressure off Afghan batters in the run chase. Iftikhar admitted that the players made mistakes and called for improvements.
"We made a lot of mistakes during our fielding, I admit. But, we need to improve; that's the only option we have for now. If you are playing against a world-class side, you have to perform at a similar level across departments. Only then you will be able to survive," he said.
Despite losing three out of five games, Iftikhar is confident that Pakistan will bounce back in the tournament and make it to the last four.
"We can definitely bounce back. There's no doubt that we possess the abilities, and we have world-class players in our side. We still have a lot of matches left. But we have to win them all to get into the top four," he concluded.
Pakistan will go up against South Africa in their next clash on October 27 at the same venue. It will be a ‘perform or perish’ situation for Babar's men.
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