Pakistan’s World Cup loss against Afghanistan opens can of worms; flood of criticism directed at Babar Azam

Fakhar-e-Alam, host of the cricket show The Pavillion on ‘A Sports’, asked this question to his panellists, former skippers Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq. He didn’t get any answers.

Pakistan’s senior journalist Shahid Hashmi broke down midway through his report from Chepauk at Ary News. One of the guests of the show, Basit Ali, said: “This is the pain of entire Pakistanis.”

However, former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif says cricket will not face the same fate as hockey and squash in Pakistan because of the money invested in this sport.

“Cricket will never die in Pakistan. It will not have the fate of hockey and squash,” Latif told the Indian Express.

“The reason is money. Yes our cricketers don’t earn as much as India but as per our economy, all of them are looked after really well. Barring the IPL, they play all the T20 leagues. Cricket’s commercial value is way higher than the other sports in Pakistan. Yes, what happened with our hockey and squash is sad but I can’t see the decline of cricket in Pakistan,” he added.

Rashid though blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the selectors, the think tank for their performance in the ongoing World Cup.

“What we saw in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and in Chennai is all a result of poor selection. In Pakistan, there is no dearth of talent, the problem lies with the board, the thinktank, whether they will give the right talent a chance or not,” said Latif.

Rashid Latif has put the blame on the political interference in Pakistan cricket and with bureaucrats calling the shots in day-to-day cricketing activities.

“The question after this performance should be asked is where can we improve? I am not saying the chairman should be a former cricketer but CEO, the head of the high-performance centre should be a former cricketer. Our problem is that the bureaucrats run these important sections and they are creating a mess,” he said.

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on his Youtube channel, has lambasted the PCB for Pakistan’s Chennai debacle.

“This is the true reflection of the PCB what is shown now on the television today. This is the direct impact of the choices you have made for the past 20-30 years in cricket. This is the end result you are getting,” he said.

Shoaib also said that there is not a single cricketer in the current Pakistan team, who is inspiring enough for kids to pick up the sport. He said: “Tell me one thing, does this team have even one inspiring cricketer? Growing up, I have seen the likes of Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram. Which cricketer in the Pakistan team is inspiring enough for kids to pick up the sport.”

Babar’s poor captaincy

Coming down heavily on Babar Azam’s captaincy in the ODI World Cup after Pakistan’s eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan, former Pakistani captains Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq had termed Azam as not good enough for the captaincy role. Afghanistan restricted Pakistan to 282 and then chased it down with an over to spare.

Babar has been on the dart-targets of most former Pakistani legends and is drowning under a flood of criticism. Shoaib Malik, in the past, has tweeted that under Babar, Pakistan has a culture of friendships, likes and dislikes. Malik on Monday has said the only person who is responsible for this situation is captain Babar Azam. He said: “The guy who is most responsible is the captain. As a batsman, he is King, but as a leader, he is not.”

Malik’s co-panellist, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan made a scathing remark on Babar. He said: “He is leading the side for the past four years. He has led the team in almost all the big events. Not a single thing he has learnt over the period of time.”

The former Pakistan captain has said that Babar Azam should learn from Virat Kohli and quit captaincy so that he can enjoy his cricket.

“It is my personal opinion that he would have been better playing as a batsman than leading this team. Look at Kohli, he left India’s captaincy, and it has turned his fortunes around,” Alam has told this newspaper.

Former Pakistan pacer Aqib Javed, who has in the past criticised Azam’s timid approach in T20, now wants Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new captain of Pakistan cricket, citing his success as Lahore Qalandars captain at the Pakistan Super League.

“Pakistan Cricket Team needs a new captain after World Cup who can bring aggression in the players. I will recommend Shaheen Afridi who took such decisions in PSL which an ordinary player like Babar Azam cannot even think of,” he said on Suno News.

On Geo TV, in the show named “Haarna mana hai,” former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq took aim at Babar’s ranking. He said: “Apna No 1 batsman hai jo samne chhakka nahi maar sakta (Our No 1 batsman can’t even step out and hit a six down the ground).”

In the same show, Babar’s former teammate Mohammed Amir said: “He has been the captain for the past four years, and there is no improvement. Fast bowlers were getting reverse swing in Chennai, and he brought back the spinners. Nothing has changed in his approach since Day 1.”

Rashid Latif says the think tank surrounded by Babar is full of “yes men.”

“There is no one in that dressing room who can tell Babar where he is going wrong. No one can dictate Babar in the dressing room, that’s the problem. Same happened with India when Virat was the captain,” said Latif.

“Babar is committing mistakes as he is not able to calculate the overs. This is because of T20 cricket. He is not able to calculate the overs of his strike bowlers. Someone in the dressing room should have sent the message to Babar that there is no point bringing Usama Mir in the 46th over with their pacers bowling reasonably well. But question is who will do the hard yard?”

Going forward for Pakistan

One can count Pakistan out at their own peril. The cornered tigers become more dangerous when their backs are against the wall. Last year in Australia, during the T20 World Cup, they lost to Zimbabwe and were almost out of the tournament but they went on to play the finals.

As was the case in the 1992 World Cup, they had lost three in a row and then won three straight games and snuck into the semi-final.

Will the fairytale be repeated? Can Babar be the next Imran?

Rashid Latif believes so. He said: “Risk hai toh ishq hai, that’s the Pakistani way. They will have to play the out-of-the-box cricket, and Pakistan has done it in the past.”

Shoaib also believes that Pakistan can still do well in the remaining four matches but will Babar Azam, the captain step up?

“Does Babar have the courage, does he have the stamina? Does he have the ability? Can he act like 1992 Imran Khan? Can Shaheen become Wasim Akram? Can Haris Rauf become Aquib Javed, Can Shadab become Mushtaq Ahmed? Can this team do this? I believe in this team but do they? God knows,” he said

Pakistan’s remaining four fixtures are against South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand and England. They will need to win all four of them convincingly and at the same time, will have to hope that the gods of 92 will help them with another rescue plan.