Captain Babar Azam and his team are facing intense criticism after an unexpected early exit from the tournament. Concerns are also being raised about Babar Azam’s captaincy. He was reinstated as skipper before the tournament.
He had relinquished the captaincy following a poor ODI World Cup campaign last year.
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In a post-match press conference after the game against Ireland, Babar addressed the captaincy issue. He stated that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would review the campaign at home and decide on the team’s future leadership. Babar emphasized that his reinstatement as captain was a decision made solely by the PCB.
“Jahaan tak captaani ki dekhe toh pahle maine chori toh mujhe laga ki ab nahi karni chahiye, toh maine chor di. Maine khud announce kiya tha. Wapas jab diya hai woh PCB ka faisla hai, unhone di hai. Ab hum jayenge, jitni bhi yahaan huwi hai baithke discussion karenge aur yeh faisla baad me.. Jab chorni hogi toh main aise hi khule aam bataunga, jo hoga saamne hoga. Filhaal ispe maine kuch socha nahi hai. Jo faisla hai woh PCB karegi,” Babar said.
Babar expressed his disappointment regarding the team’s early exit from the T20 World Cup. He acknowledged that the team as a whole failed to perform rather than pointing fingers at individual players. He noted that the team struggled to synchronize their performances; when the bowlers performed well, the batting lineup faltered.
“Dukh jitna aap ko hai, usse jyada humein hai. Players, management sabko dukh hai. Hum waisi cricket nahi khel paaye, jaise expect karni chahiye thi. Jis tarah ke hamare players the, waise hum performance nahi kar paye. Toh mere khayal se, hum as a team achcha nahi khele. Yeh nahi ki kisi ek bande ki wajah se hum haare. As a team hum haare. As a team hum click nahi kar paye. Kabhi humne bowling me achcha kiya, kabhi humne batting me acha nahi kiya,” Babar added.
While discussing the conditions, Babar admitted that the pitches slightly favored fast bowlers, but the primary issue was their batting failures in critical moments. He pointed out that losing wickets back-to-back put them in a difficult position in crucial matches.
“Yahaan par jo pitches thi who fast bowlers ko thoda sa help kar rahi thi. Humari batting waise click nahi kar payi. Jab humare hathon ki cheez aayi, wahan par humne wicket lose ki, jiske bajah se do crucial match the woh haare. Hum ahead jaa rahe the, pressure dusre team me thi lekin jab aap back-to-back wicket girti hai toh pressure aap pe aa jati hai,” Babar said.
The Pakistan skipper’s comments reflect a broader team failure rather than individual shortcomings. His focus is now on returning home and having thorough discussions to determine the way forward for Pakistan cricket. The future of his captaincy remains in the hands of the PCB, and a decision is expected after the campaign review.