Pakistani Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates with his teammates (AP/PTI)
Former India international Virender Sehwag has flatly denied Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup, stating that he does not see Salman Ali Agha’s team pulling off the required miracle.Pakistan are still mathematically alive in the race to the quarter-finals, thanks to England’s Super 8 win over New Zealand in Colombo on Friday. However, their lower net run rate leaves them facing a steep climb. Even if they defeat Sri Lanka, they will only be tied with New Zealand on points unless they pull off a big win to overhaul the Blackcaps’ net average.
T20 World Cup: Shaheen Shah Afridi’s press conference after England vs Pakistan match
The qualification equation is daunting. If Pakistan bat first and post 160, they should win by at least 65 runs.
If they are chasing the same total, they must finish the job within 13.2 overs to move ahead of New Zealand and book a semi-final berth.During a discussion on Cricbuzz, when the anchor outlined Pakistan’s scenario if they bat first, Sehwag bluntly replied, “Nahi hone wala. Aage Padh (Not going to happen, read more).”When the focus turned to the possibility of a chase, Sehwag was equally dismissive. “Wo bhi nahi hun wala.
(This also will not happen).”Talking further about the offer, he said, “It won’t happen, that’s what I was saying. It’s not that easy for Pakistan. Prayers may have been accepted for the England-New Zealand match. But prayers won’t work for Pakistan in the match against Sri Lanka. They have been praying for a long time, and it hasn’t worked. So I don’t think it’s possible,” Sehwag further said on Cricbuzz.Sehwag added that the only realistic path for Pakistan is for Sri Lanka to play very poorly, effectively giving them the game.
He wondered how a team struggling to reach 160 points so consistently could suddenly chase down that target with astonishing speed.“If they somehow qualify, that’s very good. If they score 160 runs and then win by 60 runs, Sri Lanka will have to play some bad cricket. They will have to be bowled out for 90 runs, which is not possible. It is possible to chase a total of 13.2 runs, but their batting is not that way,” he added.“Pakistan is anyway unable to score 160 runs, so how will they chase the total at 14? It will be difficult,” he added.England have already finished top of Group B of the Super 8 stage and booked their place in the semi-finals. The remaining group qualifying spot will be decided between Pakistan and New Zealand.