Pakistan head coach Wahab Riaz stayed positive after his team’s 64-run loss to India in Match 6 of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston, Birmingham on June 14, 2026. He asked his players to keep playing fearless cricket and stay patient as the team continues to adjust to a new way of playing under his leadership.
Wahab said Pakistan are still adjusting to his coaching style and that it will take time for results to improve as the team builds a more attacking approach in T20 cricket.
“We just took over like in the last four months. We have took over this Pakistan cricket team and you cannot make a lot of changes into the way they have been playing and to change the pattern of the way they were playing before and now. So obviously it will take some time,” Wahab reflected after Pakistan’s 64-run loss to India.
He said the main focus is to match modern T20 cricket standards, especially by scoring more runs in the Powerplay. “The good thing is that what we want to do is that we want to compete to the international strategies where you need to score more runs in the Powerplay. You need to score 170 at least to be in the game and you have to maintain that thing going on.”
Wahab clearly said the team message is to play positive and fearless cricket. “The message is very clear that we need to play like that. We need to play positive cricket. We need to play fearless cricket. And obviously in this span of time, like four months, nothing can change drastically.”
He also said that the team has shown effort and small improvements, but they must finish games better.
“But I think again, the way the girls have been putting a lot of effort into it, and we are seeing the glimpse in different series we have played, bilateral series and the games. So there are some positives, but we need to finish well. I think the problem we are doing is that we are not finishing the games well, and I think we will get a hold of it and we will do well in the games.”
Wahab added that Pakistan had some good moments in the match but could not keep control for long.
“There are some glimpses of positiveness, and we will take that. We know it is always going to be a game of nerves, and I think we are working hard on it. And they have been trying their level best, and you win one, you lose one. Unfortunately, we were on the losing side today,” Wahab said.
He stressed that the team must believe in themselves and reduce mistakes going forward.
“I think we are here to win. I think we just need to make less mistakes and we just have to believe in ourselves. We have to play more positive cricket, more fearless cricket. I think that’s what it is. It’s a T20 game. There are no favorites in this game. The day you play well, the phases you play well, you do well.”
India Women put up a strong batting performance and scored 170/6 in their 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana led the innings with a fluent 68 off 44 balls, while Harmanpreet Kaur scored 36 and Richa Ghosh added a quick 34 off 17 balls. Deepti Sharma also finished unbeaten on 12.
Pakistan started well with the ball as Sadia Iqbal dismissed Shafali Verma early, and Fatima Sana also picked up two wickets. But India recovered well and kept scoring at a steady pace to reach a strong total.
In the chase, Pakistan were all out for 106 in 17 overs. Muneeba Ali was the top scorer with 41 off 35 balls, but she did not get enough support from other batters. India’s bowling was dominant, led by Deepti Sharma’s excellent spell of 5/10. Shree Charani took 3 wickets, while Shafali Verma also took 1 wicket.
Pakistan Women will next face South Africa Women on June 17, 2026 (Wednesday) at Edgbaston, Birmingham in their next ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group 1 match.
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