Pakistani cricketers are known for their loudness. Without talking about statistics, he just reads the praises of his team’s success in any match, and feels embarrassed after the defeat. Something similar happened with Shoaib Akhtar, who before the match on Tuesday had expressed his wish that Pakistan should defeat England badly today. He also spewed venom against India, saying, “We will be happy if India is out of the T20 World Cup 2026.” Now his reaction after Pakistan’s defeat is going viral. His own statement is becoming a cause of embarrassment for him.

What did Shoaib Akhtar say first

On a show on Pakistan channel, Shoaib Akhtar said before the match, “If England plays so badly today, we can take these 2 points and qualify by defeating Sri Lanka. There will be no limit to our happiness if India gets out of this tournament.”

Akhtar’s tone changed after the match

When England defeated Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar, sitting on the show of the same channel, raised questions on the captaincy of Salman Ali Aga. Although during this time his voice was very low, he was depressed and was not even able to speak properly. Pakistan, which wanted to see India out of the tournament, is now in a bad situation.

Shoaib Akhtar before and after the game

• Shoaib Akhtar before the start of the game – If England play this badly we’ll happily take the 2 points and our joy will know no bounds if India get knocked out and we make it to the semi-finals.

• Shoaib Akhtar after the game -… https://t.co/brkXCyaKH7 pic.twitter.com/WzaZzenSxN

— 10 (@Loyalsachfan10) February 24, 2026

Pakistan’s veteran Saqlain Mushtaq was also reading the ballads of Pakistan team before the match, he had said that this team can defeat England because it has the strength. After the match he also raised questions on his team’s strategy.

Gems of Shoaib Akhtar and Kudrat Ka Nizam (Saqlain Mushtaq)

Before the Start of the Game :

• Shoaib Akhtar – If England play this badly we’ll happily take the 2 points and our joy will know no bounds if India get knocked out and we make it to the semi-finals.

• Saqlain… pic.twitter.com/wk4qK5q3oM

— 10 (@Loyalsachfan10) February 24, 2026

Now if New Zealand wins both its next matches, then it will not make any difference whether Pakistan wins its next match. Pakistan needs New Zealand to lose both its matches and they should defeat Sri Lanka.

Pakistan cricket team’s first match in Super-8 was canceled due to rain, after which Salman Ali Aga and team had to be satisfied with 1 point. Today they face England, who had defeated Sri Lanka in the first match of this round. If Pakistan team loses today, they will be able to reach maximum 3 points, then will the team be eliminated today itself? Understand the equation of Group-2.

Today the England vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup will be played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy. It was here that Pakistan’s first match was to be held, which was washed out in the rain. But today the chances of rain here are negligible, although there may be drizzle. So there is a question in the minds of the fans that if Pakistan loses today, they will be out of the race for the semi-finals?

If Pakistan loses, what will be the equation?

Even after losing today, Pakistan will not be out of the race for the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup. In this situation they will have 1 point after 2 matches. However, in this situation they will have to depend on other teams. They would like New Zealand to lose to Sri Lanka and England and Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka in their last match. Then Pakistan will have 3 points, Sri Lanka will have 2 and New Zealand will have zero points.

If New Zealand and Pakistan both beat Sri Lanka and England beat New Zealand. So New Zealand and Pakistan will have 3 points each, then the one whose net run rate is better will go ahead.

If New Zealand defeats both Sri Lanka and England, they will have 5 points and England will have 4 points. In this situation, Pakistan will be out of the race for the T20 World Cup semi-finals even before its last match.

Group 2 Schedule

• 24 February- England vs Pakistan
• 25 February- sri lanka vs new zealand
• 27 February- England vs New Zealand
• 28 February- sri lanka vs pakistan

When and where to watch England vs Pakistan match live?

England vs Pakistan match will start at 7 pm today at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The toss will take place at 6:30 pm. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network. There will be live streaming on JioHotstar app and website.

The Pakistan vs New Zealand match was abandoned without any balls being bowled due to rain, after which both the teams had to be content with 1-1 points. However, one aspect of this is that one team has lost 1 point, which could have got full points by winning. Well, here we are telling about the Pakistan team captained by Salman Ali Aga and how the team can now reach the semi-finals.

Pakistan cricket team had won 3 matches in the group stage, this team lost only the match against India. Pakistan’s opener Sahibzada Farhan is in excellent form, he is the batsman who has scored the most runs (220) in the ongoing edition. Usman Tariq has also impressed so far. Although New Zealand is also a strong team, but looking at the pitch conditions, Pakistan seemed to have the upper hand.

The top 2 teams of 4 groups of the league stage are playing in the Super-8 round of the T20 World Cup. They have been divided into 2 groups, each group has 4-4 teams. Each team has to play 1-1 match against every team in its group, after which the top-2 teams will qualify for the semi-finals. Pakistan now has to play England and Sri Lanka in Super-8.

• 24 February, vs England
• 28 February, vs Sri Lanka

Now how can Pakistan reach the semi-finals?

Although Pakistan is not dependent on any team right now, they have to win both their matches. If this happens then Pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals, because in this situation New Zealand will be the only other team which will be able to reach 5 points along with Pakistan.

But if Pakistan loses a match, or their another match is cancelled, then also a problem will arise. In such a situation, Pakistan will have 3 points, then they will have to depend on the performance of other teams. Even then such a situation can arise that only one team is ahead of Pakistan. But it is difficult to make this equation. Whereas Salman Ali Aga and team would like to win both their matches and qualify for the semi-finals without any problem.

Pakistan cricket team is facing New Zealand in Super-8 today. The team won 3 out of 4 matches in the group stage, although questions were raised on the performance of many big players. Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped from the playing 11 of the fourth match itself, whereas in that match against Namibia, Babar Azam was not sent to bat till number five. Now the video of what Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said in response to a question asked about Babar’s batting order is going viral.

In the press conference held before the Pakistan vs New Zealand match, a journalist asked the head coach of Pakistan, ‘Why is Babar Azam being played at number four? He used to open for Pakistan earlier, he also opens in BBL and other leagues, so why are you demoting him down the order?

Babar Azam’s strike rate problem- coach

Mike Hesson replied, “This is because of the team’s requirement. Babar Azam is aware of this. His strike rate is less than 100 in the powerplay, Babar also knows this. We do not want this kind of performance from him. He plays well in the middle order, like we saw against USA. Once he settles down at the crease, he can increase his strike rate.”

MIKE HESSON COOKED BABAR AZAM

Reporter: Why Babar is batting at No.4?

Mike Hesson: “It’s about what the team requires. Babar Azam’s strike rate during the powerplay is below 50, that’s not what we’re looking for from him”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT? pic.twitter.com/4L3scVqP5N

— TIGER AUTHENTIC INFORMATION (@sitaram_bag) February 21, 2026

It is clear from this that Pakistan team management is worried about the low strike rate of Babar Azam, this is also the reason for his going down in the batting order. However, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi believes that Babar Azam should be made to open in T20 World Cup 2026 instead of Saim Ayub. Afridi said on a channel, “If you had gone to Pakistan thinking that Babar would play at number four, then it meant you had gone after losing to Pakistan.”

Currently, the highest run scorer in T20 World Cup 2026 is Sahibzada Farhan, who has scored 220 runs in 4 matches. His eyes are on Virat Kohli’s world record, which was made by the Indian batsman in 2014. Pakistan has reached the Super-8 of the ongoing edition, which means their 3 matches are confirmed.

Sahibzada Farhan played an important inning of 47 runs against Netherlands. He scored a brilliant 73 runs against the USA team, however, his bat remained silent against Team India. Hardik Pandya had dismissed him for zero in the very first over, but after that he scored a historic century against Namibia. He became the second batsman to score a century for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, this was his first century in this format.

This many runs are needed to break Kohli’s world record

The world record for scoring most runs in a single edition of T20 World Cup is currently in the name of Virat Kohli, which he made in the year 2014. That season Kohli had scored 319 runs in 6 matches. This included 4 half-century innings. Since then no one has been able to break this record of his. But Farhan is close to it.

Sahibzada Farhan has scored 320 runs in 4 matches in T20 World Cup 2026. Farhan now has at least 3 innings in the World Cup, in which he has to score a total of 100 runs to break Kohli’s record. If his team reaches the semi-finals or finals, his chances will increase even more.

Pakistan’s schedule in T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan’s first match in Super-8 is against New Zealand on 21 February. After this the team will face England on 24th February. Pakistan’s last match in the second round will be with Sri Lanka on 28 February. After the Super-8 matches, the top-2 teams of the group will qualify for the semi-finals and other teams will be eliminated.

After qualifying for the Super-8 of the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan took a dig at the former players of his own country and made fun of them. Now this matter is increasing. PCB also warned the all-rounder, now former captain Shahid Afridi has given a strong reaction. Responding to Shadab’s words, he said that first you play the entire tournament, now you have to face New Zealand and Sri Lanka. will talk later. Afridi also said that we used to win matches not only against small teams but also against big teams. The video of Afridi’s statement is going viral on social media.

Pakistan had lost badly to India in the group stage. After this, by winning against Namibia, the team qualified for the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026. When Shadab Khan was asked that former Pakistani cricketers were criticizing you after the defeat against India? So in response to this he said that he is a legend in himself, but we (present-day Pakistan team) have won one match against India. That is, he was reminding that the former Pakistan team could not even win a match against Team India.

What did Shahid Afridi say?

Pakistani players are seen facing each other regarding this. Former captain Shahid Afridi said on ‘Sama TV’, “Shadab was right, they won matches with India but we did not win. He got respect for it, but he could not handle it. Even if he won in 2021, after that he could not handle the issues among himself. Shadab should also know that when he was not able to perform, we used to speak in his defense that his overs are important for the team. Batting also does well.”

Shahid Afridi further said, “Shadab is a good boy. But people have also spoken against us a lot, used to curse us, but we have always responded with our performance. Not against small teams, we responded by performing against big teams. Shadab son, you have just performed against Namibia. Inshallah, you will perform further against New Zealand, you will also perform against Sri Lanka. So son, we are sitting here, respond to us by performing. “Give.”

Shahid Afridi on Shadab Khan’s statement about Ex-cricketers.

“Shadab is right, we didn’t win against India in WC, they won in 2021. They received respect, but they couldn’t uphold it”.

pic.twitter.com/jEyXywv7cC

-Salman. (@TsMeSalman) February 19, 2026

Shahid Afridi said that Shadab son, your important matches are coming now. Hope you perform against England, against New Zealand, against Sri Lanka and win the matches. He said that if we perform against such teams, we will automatically become silent.

Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik said that he does not find it right to compare Babar Azam with Virat Kohli. He said this after Babar was out after playing bad shots against India in the T20 World Cup. Let us tell you that both India and Pakistan have qualified in Super-8. But both are in different groups.

Dinesh Karthik also raised questions on Babar Azam’s shot selection. He was bowled by Akshar Patel after playing a bad shot, he scored only 5 runs in 7 balls. The effect of this was that against Namibia he was not sent to bat even at number 5, which was also seen as an insult to him.

What did Dinesh Karthik say?

Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “I can’t imagine that Virat Kohli will play this kind of shot at the beginning of the innings. He does not have the confidence in what to do to win or what to do to take his team closer to victory.”

Chasing 176 runs against India, Pakistan was in trouble when Babar Azam came to bat at number four. The most experienced batsman of the team was expected to take charge of the team, but he got bowled after playing a bad shot. Karthik said that it was Babar’s responsibility to lead the team while chasing and handle this pressure situation. Chase master Virat Kohli has done this many times in the last so many years.

Karthik further said, “What makes you great is how much pressure you bear. Not every match can be easy, where you just play a few shots.” The former Indian cricketer said that Babar is not even close to becoming the best batsman in the world.

Pakistan did not field its most experienced batsman Babar Azam to bat against Namibia. Earlier in the T20 World Cup 2026, Babar was playing at number four, but Khawaja Nafe came to bat in his place on Wednesday. Shadab Khan was sent at number five. However, this also benefited the team, the team scored a big score of 199 runs after losing 3 wickets in 20 overs. But this was seen as an insult to Babar. After the match, Shadab said that no player can take anything to heart now, because everyone in this team is trying to win the match.

After the defeat against India, Pakistan was in danger of being eliminated from the group stage itself. Babar Azam has not been running for quite some time now, and even if he is scoring runs in a match, his strike rate becomes a matter of concern. First Salman Aga started coming above him and now Babar was not even sent to the fifth position. In the press conference after the match, Shadab Khan said, “As a professional player, you cannot take these things to heart. The message is clear, so it is not a problem for any player. Every player is trying to help the Pakistan team win.”

What did Shadab say about Babar’s batting order?

Shadab Khan was asked why Babar Azam was not sent to bat, was there any problem in Pakistan’s selection. So he said that this was not an experiment.

Shadab Khan said, “Do you really think that Pakistan experiments so much? I don’t think so. The message of the team is very clear. If you are talking about not sending Babar to bat, then he clearly knows when his role has to come, when he has to play. The message is clear for every player. There are changes in the team according to the conditions, this is what is happening.”

Team India defeated Pakistan in a one-sided match on 15 February in the T20 World Cup. The people of Pakistan expected that their team would be able to give a tough competition to India, but nothing like this happened. There was never any such moment in the entire match when it seemed that Pakistan was dominating or could win. Since 2022, Pakistan has not been able to win even a single match against India. However, this time the target is more than the players, Mohsin Naqvi, who has been made Pakistan’s hero for a long time. Now former cricketer Mohammad Yusuf has vented his anger through a post on social media.

Mohammad Yusuf, while posting on ‘X’, said that political influence or personal agenda should be removed. He called it a dark period for Pakistan cricket. He also said that ineligible people should be thrown out. This is being linked to Mohsin Naqvi.

What did Mohammad Yusuf write?

Yusuf wrote on his ex, ‘Until Pakistan removes political influence or personal agenda from cricket, the team will not reach where it was before. This is the darkest period for Pakistan cricket. My heart cries. Those who are not qualified should be removed from the team and office.

Although Yusuf did not take the name of Mohsin Naqvi in ​​his post, it is being linked to him. Earlier, Shoaib Akhtar had also raised questions on PCB Chief on ABP show, calling him ineligible. However, he later took a U-turn and said that his statement was misunderstood.

Pakistan’s place in Super-8 not confirmed

Pakistan cricket team’s place in Super-8 has not been confirmed yet. Pakistan is facing Namibia in the last match of the group stage. If Namibia pulls off an upset and defeats Pakistan, then America will be the second team to go to Super-8 from this group along with India. Pakistan vs Namibia match will be played on Wednesday (18 February) from 3 pm.

The people of Pakistan were hopeful that their team would defeat India in the T20 World Cup. On the contrary, the team could not even compete, Suryakumar Yadav and team won the one-sided match against Pakistan. As usual, even after this defeat, there was an uproar in Pakistan. Shoaib Akhtar told PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi the reason for the bad condition of the Pakistan team. But the words he used along with it created an uproar.

Shoaib Akhtar said on ABP channel, “If I am made the chairman of your channel, I will not know how it works. You made someone who does not know anything about cricket the chairman of the PCB. Now what to do? How will this team work? You have made a guy a superstar, but he cannot win even a match. You have made the one who cannot play 10 overs a star. If there are such stars, then the situation will be the same.”

Where did the controversy start?

Mohsin Naqvi is currently the Chief of Pakistan Cricket Board, under whose tenure Pakistan has been disgraced many times in the cricket world. He ran away with the Asia Cup trophy, which was won by Team India. Earlier, Pakistan was refusing to play group stage match against India, the reason for which was also attributed to Naqvi. But then PCB had to bow before ICC. Naqvi is shown as a hero in Pakistan cricket, but when his team lost to India, a former Pakistani cricketer called him illiterate.

After Pakistan’s defeat against India, Shoaib Akhtar had said, “What is the biggest crime in the world? That giving a big position to an unqualified person. When an unqualified and illiterate person is allowed to do a big job, that person will destroy the country. The example is in front of you. Your team went far ahead and we (Pakistan) were left behind. There is no competition, it is just a matter of TRP. Sell on TV, no competition is visible on the field. But now I want Pakistan to win from Namibia and if any miracle happens then I cannot stop supporting Pakistan.

Chaos in Pakistan due to Shoaib Akhtar’s statement

Whatever Akhtar said for Mohsin Naqvi created an uproar in Pakistan. He called the Chief of the Cricket Board of his own country an illiterate. There was so much uproar that Akhtar had to take a U-turn from his statement. He said that my words were misinterpreted.

Shoaib Akhtar said that he had not said the illiterate thing for Mohsin Naqvi. This was for the top officials running international cricket. I had also said that I will not listen to anything negative about Mohsin Bhai. Akhtar now praised Naqvi and said, “He wants to make Pakistan cricket better. He is a good person and wants to do good work. He is not getting the right advice.” He said that Naqvi is not choosing the right people to choose the right team.

Now how will Pakistan reach Super-8?

Pakistan faces Namibia in the last match of the group stage. To qualify for Super-8, Pakistan has to win at any cost. If there is an upset and Namibia wins this match, then America will become the second team of Group A along with India to reach the Super-8. Pakistan vs Namibia match will start on 18 February at 3 pm.