Pallekele (Sri Lanka), March 1 Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha says that they made wrong decisions under pressure in the T20 World Cup, where they failed to perform to their full potential.
Pakistan defeated co-hosts and already-eliminated Sri Lanka by a narrow five-run margin in their last Super Eight stage match, but that was not enough to secure a place in the semifinals.
"If you look at the entire tournament, we underperformed. In the 20-over game, we played 18 overs very well, and the other team was also allowed to play well. But, yes, our last three overs were not executed well," Agha said at the post-match press conference on Saturday night.
The captain took full responsibility for the below-par performance.
"We will take full responsibility. Why not? Because we were involved in selecting the team, and we were responsible for the players. I will take responsibility, and I'm sure the coach will also," Agha said.
He said that decision-making under pressure situations was a major issue for Pakistan, which needs to be addressed for better results in ICC events.
"And that's what I told them – we need to make better decisions when we're under pressure. Because basically, you make mistakes under pressure. And in ICC events, the pressure is high because you're playing against the best teams in the world.
"Every game is very important because if you lose a game, it feels like you're out of the tournament. So, I think that when you're under pressure, you have to make good decisions," Agha said.
Agha feels that Pakistan needs to improve their game when put under pressure situations.
"You are absolutely right that we didn't reach the semi-finals in the last four ICC tournaments. The reason is that we have to improve our game when playing under pressure. And when the pressure increases, how to improve our decision-making. I think that matters more right now.
"Because whenever there is pressure, I think our decision-making is not as good as it should be. When you come to the World Cup or ICC events, there is always pressure. If your decision-making is not good under that pressure, then the result will be like this."
Agha refrained from saying if he will relinquish the T20 captaincy after the dismal campaign.
"I came in at number 3 and played well in the series against Sri Lanka and Australia. I couldn't give the performance I should have given.
"We haven't played as well as we should have in the World Cup. Any decision taken now will be emotional. We will go back and take some time and then make the required decision," he concluded.
