Five disastrous team changes made in 20-20 World Cup 2022

With England and Pakistan, all set to take on each other in the summit clash of the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022 on November 13, Sunday, the teams that bowed out of the tournament had to face some of the worst defeats on their way to the knockouts. 

For the unversed, Rishabh Pant replaced Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI for India’s clash against Zimbabwe and the knockout game against England. As things stand we decided to handpick five disastrous changes that teams made, which backfired in the end.

Here are the five disastrous changes made in the 20-20 World Cup 2022:

1) Deepak Hooda vs South Africa in Super 12 

Deepak Hooda (Image Source: Twitter)

Axar Patel missed out on the crucial clash against South Africa in the Super 12 stage on October 30 and Deepak Hooda, the allrounder who made it to the squad on the back of his impressive domestic performances, replaced him in the squad. 

However, much to the dreariness of the Indian fans and team management, the right-handed batter perished for a duck and eventually did not get an opportunity to roll his arms over for team India. 

2) Steve Smith vs Afghanistan in Super 12

Steve Smith (Image Source: Twitter)

Aaron Finch, the Australian skipper, was ruled out of the important face-off against Afghanistan in their final Super 12 encounter on November 4. While Cameron Green replaced talented batter Tim David, Steve Smith, Australia’s trusted batter, made his way into the squad to fill in for Finch. 

Smith, who played his first game of the tournament, disappointed the team and fans as he contributed only 4 runs with the bat. Although the Kangaroos sealed the match in style, their hopes of making it to the knockouts were crushed when England defeated Sri Lanka the very next day.

3) Rishabh Pant vs Zimbabwe in Super 12

Rishabh Pant (Image Source: Twitter)

Rishabh Pant awaited his first match of the tournament and got a chance against Craig Ervine’s men on November 6 in the Super 12 stage replacing Dinesh Karthik. However, the southpaw contributed only 3 runs with the bat and disappointed the team management. 

While the left-handed batter came in late in the clash against England in the semi-finals, Pant, who sacrificed his wicket for Pandya, departed for 6 runs and failed to make an impact yet again. The decision, however, was pointed out post-India’s exit in the 20-20 World Cup and many claimed that India should have rather gone with Karthik instead in the knockouts. 

4) Ebadot Hossain vs Pakistan in Super 12

Ebadot Hossain (Image Source: Twitter)

Bangladesh made three changes in the clash against Pakistan on November 6 and Ebadot Hossain featured in the playing XI for the team against Babar Azam and his men. However, the star cricketer did not get an opportunity to take the willow for the team and eventually bagged one wicket with the ball. 

This became the talk of the town then and many questioned the selection of the 28-year-old. The Bangla Tigers lost the match, letting Pakistan stay in the race to make it through to the semi-finals. 

5) Heinrich Klaasen vs Pakistan in Super 12

Heinrich Klaasen (Image Source: Twitter)

South Africa’s star finisher David Miller missed out on the high-octane battle against Pakistan and the batter Heinrich Klaasen replaced him in the playing XI. However, the right-handed batter hit the headlines as he contributed only 15 runs with the bat, in a crucial encounter that Proteas lost eventually.

The batter retained his spot in the next game against Netherlands, when South Africa were in a position to win the match to make it to the semi-finals. While chasing a target of 159, when the Proteas were in deep trouble, Klaasen, who must have held the team together, perished for 21 runs and Temba Bavuma’s men lost it by 13 runs in the end.  

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