Babar Azam has not been at his best in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023, either with the bat or as a leader. The struggling Pakistan captain has failed to hit single hundred in this tournament and looks like he will leave India without one. Babar has also been a poor captain with his team winning just four matches out of eight played so far and are most likely to make the exit from the tournament in the league stage itself.
Also Read | Babar Azam To Step Down As Pakistan Captain After ODI World Cup 2023, Say PCB Sources
Ramiz Raja, Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning member and now a commentator, met Babar on the sidelines of the team’s training session and talked to him about the campaign. Raja spoke to official broadcaster of World Cup Star Sports after the toss of ENG vs PAK clash and said that Babar looks very down these days because of how the results have turned out to be.
____#CWC23 | #DattKePakistani pic.twitter.com/7uQJcdW2nN— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 11, 2023
“I met Babar yesterday at Eden Gardens and he looked very down,” said Ramiz while explaining what has gone wrong for Pakistan.
The pressure of captaining Pakistan breaks the best of the players. Babar is not the first and won’t be the last captain who faces the brunt after team’s poor show at yet another World Cup. Pakistan have not made it to the semifinals of the ODI World Cup since 2011 when they reached the top-four and lost to India at Mohali. That team was led by Shahid Afridi. From 2015 to 2023, Pakistan have failed to qualify for the semis.
Back home, Babar has become the sole person responsible for the losses. There are reports floating in local media that Babar will step down as captain post the World Cup. There are reports that not all is right between Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) current management and Babar. Zaka Ashraf, who heads PCB currently, had given Babar the team of his choice for the World Cup, reported several Pakistani websites. However, after the team did not achieve good results in the World Cup.
In a separate press release, the PCB had urged the fans to back the Men in Green post the four losses on the trot. In the same statement, PCB had written a line that the team’s performance will be analysed upon return to the homeland without the trophy. It will be interesting to see how and when things change for good in Pakistan cricket after the World Cuo debacle.
