Pallekele, February 27 Pakistan left-arm pacer Salman Mirza said on Friday that it was "very shameful" for fans to target the family of captain Salman Ali Agha after the team's disappointing performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Agha has struggled with batting, scoring just 60 runs from six matches, while there has been mounting criticism for his leadership abilities.
However, Mirza defended his captain.
"Any such act that targets a player's family is a very shameful thing. Because a player always wants to do well on the field. If he doesn't perform well on a particular day, it doesn't mean you should target their families. And I don't think this should happen at all," Mirza said ahead of Pakistan's crucial Super Eights match against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan will need a commanding win over already-eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday and a favour from England to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
But Mirza is looking at the positives and said his team was only aiming to do whatever is in their hands, win against Sri Lanka, and end the tournament on a positive note.
"Yes, absolutely. Pakistan has the capability to not only reach the semi-final but also do very well. And as you said, it's hanging by a thread – but that's not in our control. We are just focusing on our match and hopefully, we will do well," he said.
"Regardless of today's game or tomorrow's game, we can't control it, and we are just focusing on our game and we will try to do our best.
"As a player, you always want to do well, and you always evaluate yourself to see if you are doing well or not. As a player, we try to give our best for the team, and we try to achieve that. But whether it happens or not, that's not in our control."
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka bowling coach Rene Ferdinands said losing all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga at the start of the tournament was a major setback for the co-hosts.
Hasaranga was ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup due to a significant left hamstring tear sustained during their opening match against Ireland on February 8, after scoring 3/25 in that game.
"Well, clearly, if you have a player of that caliber (Hasaranga), who is a world-class performer, any team that uses a world-class performer is going to face challenges in restoring the balance of the team.
"And that's where we are. I mean, that was clear. So, we have done our best, and we have good replacements. And yeah, of course, that's a challenge. And you never get two Wanindu Hasarangas in one. So, that's expected," he said ahead of their inconsequential match against Pakistan.
Sri Lanka's campaign might be already over, but Ferdinands said they will look to end their campaign on a high note.
"It's like any match, we want to try to win it. We know that Pakistan is a good opposition, and we respect them. But in every sense, we want to try to win. There's never been any other question. So, we are always looking to bounce back, and we are preparing in that vein," he said.
Ferdinands said that things didn't go exactly according to their plans in terms of conditions.
"So generally, we are talking about adhering to processes and things like that. And in general terms, if we have a process and there are conditions that are different, and it did not exactly go to plan, but that is the nature of professional cricket. You have your professional processes and you try to adhere to them," he said.