Pakistan cricket team has been eliminated from the ongoing T20 World Cup in the group stage itself. This was decided after the Group A match between co-hosts USA and Ireland in Florida was washed out on Friday (June 14).
The first-round exit led to a scathing criticism of the Men in Green, especially skipper Babar Azam, who failed to make a mark in another ICC tournament.
Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi though feels that while the questions over Babar’s captaincy are fair, the latter has been the most consistent performer for Pakistan.
“Fellow cricket lovers on social media should criticise Babar’s captaincy but consistent players like him are rare in Pakistan cricket,” Afridi said on his YouTube channel. “Babar’s individual performances have been good. Yeah, it’s true he hasn’t been able to perform in the World Cup.”
In three innings at the T20 World Cup so far, Babar Azam has registered scores of 44 (43 balls), 13 (10 balls) and 33 (33 balls) against USA, India and Canada respectively.
Afridi also expressed his wish to see Babar becoming a matchwinner like Indian legend Virat Kohli who developed himself into one during the course of his illustrious career.
“I’ve always wished to see Babar emerge as a matchwinner like we talk about Virat Kohli. He wasn’t a matchwinner from day 1 but he has developed himself,” he said.
Afridi questioned PCB’s decision to reinstate Babar Azam as white-ball captain after he relinquished the post following the dismal ODI World Cup campaign in India last year.
“Babar Azam is being criticised. It happens because he’s the captain. I am an admirer of Babar (but) he’s been given 3-3.5 years as captain and there hasn’t been any eye-catching result nor there has been any improvement. The first question to the selection committee is that when he didn’t show any improvement (before), (why) he was reappointed as captain? As a player we have never criticised Babar but only his captaincy. A leader’s decision matters a lot – it can change the outcome of a match, a captain should be able to engage with players. So these are few things Babar has been unable to improve on,” Afridi said.
“This question has to be asked (to the selection committee) why Babar was reappointed as captain. Mohammad Rizwan was the next best option after Babar. Rizwan has a positive body language, doesn’t indulge in blame game,” he added.
According to Afridi, Babar Azam should have thrown his weight behind Shaheen Afridi, who was sacked as T20I captain after just one series.
“I think when the decision to appoint Shaheen as captain till the world cup was taken then Babar should have shown his support. He should have backed him and taken a stance. Babar’s respect would have risen. That didn’t happen but I won’t blame Babar for this. Selection committee is responsible,” he said.
There have been speculations about Pakistan team management making major overhaul following the World Cup debacle. However, Afridi believes that such a decision won’t be practical since there aren’t any quality replacements for players like Babar and Rizwan.
“What I am hearing is that 8-9 players will be removed,” Afridi said. “You can only do that when there are ready replacements. If you are thinking of removing Babar as a player, do they have a performer like him? Do they have someone like Rizwan?”
“You have to start respecting your domestic players who play entire year and produce (consistent) performances. If we ignore that and bring in someone on the basis of one-two performances then we are being unfair to them (domestic players). Send players like Azam Khan and Saim Ayub to domestic cricket and ask them to play for 2 straight years. This (talk) should come from the selection committee.”
In the end, Shahid Afridi urged the fans on social media to avoid launching personal attacks on Babar.
“I request to users on social media to avoid making personal and insulting remarks against Babar. He needs our support,” he stated.
Pakistan will conclude their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with the dead-rubber Group A match against Ireland in Florida on Sunday (June 16).
