Pakistan skipper Babar Azam remains one of the finest batters in the world but his Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign has been far from satisfactory. Babar’s poor run of form with the bat has been one of the biggest talking points in the World Cup that saw the Pakistan team put a horror show on the field. Though it is likely that Babar would go on to lose his status as the captain of the team in the coming days, Pakistan legend Wasim Akram doesn’t feel Babar should be made scapegoat of the team’s World Cup failure. Misbah-ul-Haq, on the other hand, admitted that Babar was expected to be among the top-2 batters in the World Cup but that didn’t happen.
Wasim Akram stressed on the fact that the entire team is responsible for Pakistan’s World Cup debacle and not just Babar.
“Babar Azam is not the only one playing the match. Yes he has made mistakes while captaining the side, but he is not the only one that should be blamed. It is the fault of the entire system and only Babar Azam should not be made a scapegoat out of this. Whatever has happened in the past year is the fault of the system,” Wasim Akram said on A Sports. “The players do not know who is the coach, who is going out and who is coming in. Everybody is at fault,” Akram further added.
“Babar Azam is our star player, when he scores runs, the entire country feels happy, we feel proud. His captaincy has affected his performance. he has looked stressed since the Asia Cup. Babar Azam has to learn how to focus as a batter and score runs, leaving the captaincy baggage behind. It is easier said than done,” Akram said on his captaincy.
Misbah, in a chat on the same show, didn’t flinch in admitting that it was captaincy that took a toll on Babar’s performance as a batter.
“We were expecting that Babar will be the top 2-3 batters in the World Cup. But in Indian conditions, he was not successful. If your premiere fast bowlers do not perform, you are toothless. If your spinners and batters are not performing, then it is not just Babar Azam’s fault. Yes, but in terms of leadership, I agree. Team management, selection committee, the coaches and Babar, all have to take the blame for backing out of form players and not creating enough backup options that you could rely upon,” Misbah said during the discussion.
