Pakistan's ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in the USA and West Indies ended not just in disappointment on the field, but an ugly incident off it as well. In a viral video, fast bowler Haris Rauf was seen engaging in a heated argument with a fan, needing to be physically restrained by his wife and a couple of other personnel.
The explosive confrontation came out of the frustration and sadness of Pakistan's players after a dismal outing in the global tournament. The Babar Azam-led side failed to qualify for the Super Eights, crashing out in the group stage.
Pakistan had entered the competition with hopes of claiming their second T20 world title, having won the 2009 edition. However, their campaign never really got going after facing upset at the hands of the USA and arch-rivals India. Though they managed to bounce back with wins over Canada and Ireland, Pakistan's chances were all but extinguished by a devastating last-over loss to arch-rivals India. When the USA vs Ireland fixture was eventually washed out, it confirmed Pakistan's premature elimination.
Babar Azam who had been reinstated as the Men in Green's white-ball captaincy specifically for this event, after stepping down following last year's ODI World Cup failure. However, not even Azam's leadership could prevent the T20 fallout.
Recently, there have also been speculations regarding head coach Gary Kirsten's confrontation about the team's environment and unity among the players. Kristen did not mince his words while analyzing the team's shortcomings after being disqualified from the marquee event. His comments pointed out that the Pakistan team should address the issues in the future. "There's no unity in Pakistan's team. They call it a team, but it isn't a team. They aren't supporting each other; everyone is separated, left and right. I've worked with many teams, but I've never seen such a situation," TOI quoted Kirsten.