Babar Azam speaks on Pakistan’s T20 World Cup exit, calls for collective responsibility: After Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, captain Babar Azam gave a candid assessment of the team’s performance, highlighting a collective failure and hinting at possible changes in the future.
Pakistan, a traditionally strong cricket-playing nation, failed to advance to the Super Eight stage after narrow defeats to the United States and India. Despite ending their campaign on a high note with wins over Canada and Ireland, the team has not been able to escape criticism.
In his closing press conference, Babar expressed deep disappointment, stressing that the responsibility for the team’s poor performance rests on all players.
“As much as you all are disappointed, we are more disappointed than that,” Babar said. “It’s not like we lost because of any one individual… but as a team, we lost.”
The captain admitted that his role, along with other aspects of the team, will be scrutinised. He said the decision on his captaincy will be taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) upon his return.
“I haven’t thought about it yet,” he said. “When I go back to Pakistan, we will discuss everything that happened here.
When they gave me back the captaincy, it was the PCB’s decision. The decision is theirs.” Reflecting on the narrow margins of their defeat, Babar pointed to the team’s inability to capitalise on crucial moments.
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They lost to the USA in the Super Over and lost by just six runs against India. “There are 11 players and each of them has their own role,” he said.
“I can’t play in every player’s place. We haven’t been able to implement, follow through and get the job done as a team. We have to accept that we didn’t play well as a team. It’s the fault of all 15 players. We didn’t perform well.
We will sit down and talk about it.” Amid the criticism, Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram has urged the PCB to avoid overreacting.
Speaking on ICC’s Digital Daily Show, Akram did not advise making sweeping changes but suggested adding some young players in the middle order and focusing on building a cohesive team for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan.
“You cannot change seven or eight players,” Akram said. “I don’t think any major changes can be made immediately. Maybe two or three players, add some youngsters in the middle order and make sure you retain them for a year. Then you can say, ‘at least we are building a team for the Champions Trophy.'”
Babar confirmed his willingness to participate in the review process and provide his insights. “I will give my feedback, it is my responsibility as a captain… and we will see what happens. We have all made mistakes,” he concluded.
While Pakistan cricket fans are stunned by the team’s early exit, Babar’s honest assessment and call for a balanced approach to rebuilding suggests a period of introspection and gradual change.
The focus now will be on learning from this experience and preparing for future challenges, including the much-anticipated Champions Trophy on home soil.
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Source: ICC