Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, is under pressure after only winning two out of their first five matches at the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Despite defeating Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their initial games, Pakistan suffered a heavy loss against India, followed Australia outplaying them. However, the team’s situation worsened with a surprising loss against Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday. The consecutive defeats have severely diminished their chances of reaching the semifinals. Consequently, Babar Azam’s captaincy and leadership abilities have come under scrutiny from fans and experts.
Nevertheless, Babar has found support from former Pakistan opening batsman Aamer Sohail, who believes that the criticism against him is unwarranted. Sohail claims that factions who want to harm the team are deliberately targeting Babar’s captaincy. He emphasizes that Babar’s success as captain, leading Pakistan to the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and the semifinal of the 2021 T20 World Cup, has unsettled those who prefer their favorites to be the captain instead of Babar. Sohail alleges that certain individuals with vested interests have been attempting to undermine Babar’s reputation as a captain.
Several former Pakistani players have joined in criticizing Babar’s leadership skills following the team’s loss to Afghanistan. Additionally, there have been suggestions from various quarters of Pakistan cricket that Shaheen Afridi or Imam-ul-haq could be future captaincy material.
To secure a spot in the World Cup semi-finals, Pakistan must aim to accumulate the maximum of 12 points in the group stage. However, considering the 2019 World Cup, 12 points may be sufficient to advance to the semifinals. Hence, Pakistan cannot afford any more mistakes going forward.
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