CHENNAI: Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed has conceded that the side's spinners haven't been effective which has led to a hat-trick of defeats in the ongoing World Cup.
Pakistan fell to an eight-wicket loss to Afghanistan here on Monday, their third on the trot in the marquee event.
Spin has been Pakistan's biggest weakness.
Notably, the 1992 champions did not have a proper finger spinner in the side with all-rounders Iftikhar and Mohammad Nawaz sharing the duties.
"We do have finger spinners in our team, including me and (Mohammad) Nawaz. Yes, the role of our spinners hasn't been that effective here. But we will keep trying to improve. That's all we can do," he told reporters after the loss.
Pakistan put up 282/7 on the board after electing to bat first on the back of half-centuries by Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam and contributions by the lower-order batters Shadab Khan and Iftikhar.
Iftikhar said, "Frankly speaking, this was a wicket of 300-plus. But, their bowlers did trouble us. As a batting unit, we need to improve."
Babar Azam and his men have been sloppy in the field, dropping catches, and giving away runs and boundaries.
"We made a lot of mistakes during our fielding, I admit. But, we need to improve; that's the only option we have for now. If you are playing against a world-class side, you have to perform at a similar level across departments. Only then you will be able to survive," he said.
The Men in Green have now entered the 'must-win' stage.
They have to win their remaining games as well as need some favourable results to make it to the semi-finals but Iftikhar thinks there is still time left to bounce back.
"We can definitely bounce back. There's no doubt that we possess the abilities, and we have world-class players on our side. We still have a lot of matches left. But we have to win them all to get into the top four," he signed off.
