"Pakistan are the most ordinary fielding team in this World Cup" - Gautam Gambhir on the reasons behind Men in Green's loss to Afghanistan

Gautam Gambhir has picked Pakistan's sloppy fielding as one of the biggest reasons behind their World Cup 2023 loss to Afghanistan.

The Men in Green set Afghanistan a challenging 283-run target in Chennai on Monday, October 23. Their fielders then committed a plethora of errors as Hashmatullah Shahidi and company chased down the score with eight wickets and an over to spare.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about the factors responsible for Pakistan's defeat, to which he responded:

"We have spoken about this in the Asia Cup as well - Pakistan's fielding. You can have a bad day in bowling or batting, but not in fielding. This has been going on since the Asia Cup and the department has still not improved. I believe Pakistan are the most ordinary fielding team in this World Cup."

The former India opener picked spin bowling as another problem area for Pakistan. He said:

"They are struggling in spin bowling. On this wicket, where there was no dew and there was help for the spinners, none of the three spinners could pick up a single wicket. That is the second concern."

Usama Mir, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed failed to pick up a wicket on a spin-friendly Chepauk surface. They weren't economical either, conceding 131 runs in the 21 overs they bowled between them.

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"Pakistan's top 5 batters are similar types of batters" - Gautam Gambhir

Babar Azam and the other Pakistan top-order batters like to build their innings. [P/C: AP]

Gautam Gambhir pointed out that Pakistan lack an aggressive batter in the top five. He stated:

"The third concern is Pakistan's batting. Pakistan's top five batters are similar types of batters. They don't have a batter apart from Iftikhar Ahmed who can take the game head-on."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that a conventional batting approach won't yield Pakistan the desired results. He explained:

"Cricket has moved on. Cricket is not the same as it was in the 1990s or 2011, where you score 270 or 280 runs and think that your bowling will defend that. Two new balls, flat wickets, five fielders within the circle, you will have to play proactive and attacking cricket."

Gambhir highlighted that Babar Azam is a world-class batter but has lagged far behind in inspiring his team as a captain. He concluded by opining that Pakistan will find it extremely difficult to lift themselves because they have a lot of concerns in multiple departments.