While the West Indies celebrated their first major cricket title in more than 33 years, former champions Pakistan quietly returned home in batches after their exit at the semi-final stage of the recently concluded ICC World Cup T20. The outcome of the defeat against the hosts, Sri Lanka, on a crumbling R. Premadasa Stadium track in Colombo yet opened the Pandora box with the critics baying for the blood of all those responsible for the debacle.

Former players, unsurprisingly, were their most vocal self on almost every TV channel in the aftermath of the 16-run loss in what was Pakistan’s fourth consecutive appearance in the last-four appearance in the World T20 — a feat no other team has achieved. Almost every cynic called for the immediate retirement of Shahid Afridi following the abysmal performance of the all-rounder in the 2012 tournament.

The Pakistani cricket enthusiasts are probably the most emotional lot because they never forgive the national team’s failings. At the same time, if the team performs miracles they go out of way to embrace the players as if they have conquered the entire world — prime examples, of course, are the 1992 World Cup triumph and the 2009 World Twenty20 — and the celebrations would last forever.The mysterious omission of Abdul Razzaq from the playing XI for the semi-final after the experienced all-rounder had played a vital role with the bat in the Super Eights win against Australia, which ultimately left ajar the door for Pakistan to sneak into the knockout stage of the competition, was truly mind-boggling to say the least. And who knows that, unlike the ostentatious Afridi, Razzaq’s cool-headed presence in the nervy moments of that crunch game could have tilted the balance in Pakistan’s favour not only in the pre-final but also the ‘big battle’ against India who yet again outsmarted their traditional rivals in an ICC competition.

Pakistan’s repetitive approach lacked distinct game-plan that cost them dear even though the target of 140 was manageable in conditions not dissimilar to those they encounter in the subcontinent. Mohammad Hafeez’s out-of-the-blue recklessness after the Pakistan captain had grinded through the best part of the 14 overs was a shocker considering the team carried a long tail and a horribly out-of-form Afridi. Razzaq’s accusation in the public upon arrival at the Lahore airport of being axed by Hafeez was that of a frustrated individual who was desperate to play his part in the team’s success.

Afridi cut a sorry figure throughout the tournament as he mustered just 30 runs in five visits to the crease and when his country needed him the most, Afridi lost respects of many as he fell for a record-equalling sixth duck in Twenty20 Internationals. Quite remarkably, all of his ducks were off the first ball he faced! His bowling was marginally good in patches and his four-wicket haul in six matches fell well short of the dizzy heights of the 2009 campaign in England. Then he was the undisputed king of the champion team skippered by Younis Khan with decisive roles in the semi-final win against South Africa and final over Sri Lanka and capped his achievements (176 runs and 11 wickets) with the Man-of-the-Tournament title.

It would be totally futile for one to be discussing the ‘ifs-and-buts’ of Pakistan’s otherwise satisfactory showing in the past several weeks. Already much has been pointed out on the pros and cons issues of team selection in both print and electronic media, by the so-called pundits who we all regard as former players. It’s no use crying over spilt milk.

But Hafeez, in the days ahead, has to come out with honest assertions on certain issues. His post-match comments were tactful and which gave the impression that everything was smooth in the Pakistan camp. The skipper’s tactics at times were open to questions and reluctance to adopt a flexible approach was glaringly missing. Hafeez, in all fairness, was found wanting as captain. The inexplicable sidelining of Asad Shafiq from playing XI and his persistent liking for Imran Nazir’s missed-and-hit style school of batting, are just a few examples of his shortcomings as a leader of the most volatile team on the planet.