Tag: Babar Azam

  • PCB throws Babar under the bus, urges support for team

    PCB throws Babar under the bus, urges support for team

    After the Pakistan cricket team lost three World Cup matches in a row, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to publicly support the team. However, in a surprise move, they threw captain Babar Azam under the proverbial bus.

    PCB released a press release on social media, urging fans to support the national team.

    In the press release issued by the PCB, it was stated, “The board understands the sentiments and feelings of the cricket fans on the three consecutive failures of the national team in the ICC World Cup 2023, however, on this occasion, the board administration hopes from the public and former cricketers that captain Babar Azam and the players should be encouraged in this hour of difficulty”.

    The PCB message said that the national team still has four matches to play in the World Cup, hopefully, the national team will forget the defeat and show a positive and good game in the upcoming matches.

    PCB said, “On the criticism of former cricketers and the media on the captain Babar Azam and the team management and changing them, the cricket board is of the opinion that winning and losing is part of the game.

    “Chairman PCB Management Committee Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf gave a complete free hand to Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and Captain Babar Azam in the World Cup squad and did not hinder them in making the team as per their wish. In the future, the board will make decisions in light of the performance of the World Cup 2023 in due course. Currently, the board is fully hopeful of the team’s good performance to hoist the green flag on the field in the ICC World Cup 2023.”

    Pakistan Cricket Board is facing huge criticism on social media, here are some reactions;

  • ‘When we rise, we go straight to the top’; Babar Azam still has hope

    ‘When we rise, we go straight to the top’; Babar Azam still has hope

    A video of a Pakistan team practice session has been widely shared on the X account of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). In the video, players were seen practicing in the net while Babar Azam gives them a pep talk.

    Despite three consecutive defeats in the ICC World Cup, the captain of the national team, Babar Azam, did not lose heart and encouraged the players.

    ‘We have done this many times, we have risen from the bottom but when we rise from the bottom we go straight to the top, all the players remember that time.”

    He said, “It would be easy if we stick by each other. We have to walk shoulder to shoulder with each other, we have done it before, we have come back and we can still do it. Don’t give up”.

  • Why did Afghan cricketer Gurbaz thank Babar Azam on social media?

    Why did Afghan cricketer Gurbaz thank Babar Azam on social media?

    Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rehmanullah Garbaz thanked Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam on social media for a special gift.

    In his message on social media, Rahmanullah Garbaz thanked Azam for the bat the Pakistan captain had gifted him, writing, “You stay strong and shine.” He also wrote that the greatest gift from a great player, calling Babar Azam a humble personality.

    Two days ago, Babar Azam gifted his bat to Rahmanullah Garbaz after the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  • Pakistan’s World Cup woe — what’s gone wrong?

    Pakistan’s World Cup woe — what’s gone wrong?

    Pakistan’s chances of making the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup are on a knife-edge after their eight-wicket defeat to Afghanistan.

    AFP Sport looks at three problem areas for Babar Azam’s falterinordinary

    World class bowling looks ordinary

    Pakistan’s bowling was touted as world class before the Asia Cup and when they restricted a strong India side to 266 all out in a washed out game at Pallekele, commentators saw it as a major warning to World Cup rivals.

    But two weeks before the showpiece event, key fast bowler Naseem Shah was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

    Spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has 10 wickets in five games in India but has failed to make an early impact — his 2-36 against India and 5-54 facing Australia came in losing causes. In the opening wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka, he managed two wickets at a combined cost of 103 runs.

    Haris Rauf has leaked runs, conceding 286 in five games for eight wickets while the spinners have lacked bite on the slow and turning pitches of India. Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed have just six wickets in five matches between them, conceding 502 runs.

    Captaincy in question

    Babar Azam is one of the top batsmen in white ball cricket — he has two fifties at the World Cup — but his captaincy has been questioned and he has faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.

    Pakistan media have consistently accused him of favouring his friends in selection.

    “As far as captaincy is concerned, I don’t have much pressure on me or on my batting. I try to give my best in batting,” Babar said after Monday’s loss to Afghanistan.

    “During fielding, I think about captaincy and during batting I just think about the batting.”

    Babar has won some sympathy in India for his team having to play in front of crowds where Pakistan fans have been effectively banned.

    Tight security has also meant that the squad is virtually confined to their hotels once their playing and training commitments are completed.

    Lack of planning

    There have been frequent, unsettling changes in the the Pakistan Cricket Board set-up — three chairmen in the past year — which hurt planning for the World Cup.

    Former chairman Najam Sethi brought in Mickey Arthur as team director but he also kept his Derbyshire county job in England.

    Directing the team from the UK, he was criticised in some media as a “Zoom coach.”

    Pakistan officials have also been accused of failing to manage the workload of their fast bowlers with Naseem and Shaheen playing all three formats.

    Naseem’s most obvious replacements, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Hasnain were also unfit, forcing Pakistan to recall Hasan Ali.

    “You were not able to find a coach and since you liked foreign ones you hired an online coach. We change our system frequently and that is showing in our performance in the World Cup,” said former Pakistan great Wasim Akram.

  • Babar Azam lambasts fielding after Afghanistan loss

    Babar Azam lambasts fielding after Afghanistan loss

    After the stunning defeat by Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup, Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam said that the defeat has hurt the team, pointing out that bowling and fielding were not up to par.

    While addressing a press conference after the match, Azam said, “I congratulate Afghanistan, anything can happen in cricket, this defeat has hurt the team. The bowling, and fielding were not good while the spinners did not bowl well in the middle overs.”

    Addressing criticism of his own performance, Azam said that he does not have the burden of captaincy. “When I bat, I only do my batting, when it is my turn to captain, I do full captaincy.”

    He said, “The Pakistan team is not able to click, the focus on fielding is not being fulfilled. After the defeat against India, our plans are not succeeding.”

    He again talked about his own performance, stating, “I do not know what campaign is going on against me on social media.”

  • Inappropriate behavior with Babar Azam and team; Gautam Gambhir angry at Indian spectators

    Inappropriate behavior with Babar Azam and team; Gautam Gambhir angry at Indian spectators

    Former India opener and current World Cup commentary panel member Gautam Gambhir expressed anger at Indian spectators for their inappropriate behavior towards the Pakistan team in Ahmedabad during the Pak-India match on October 14.

    In a column published in Khaleej Times, Gautam Gambhir wrote, “Though our team India has won three out of three matches, I don’t think we have won the hearts of Indian cricket team supporters.”

    “Our turnout at the ground during matches other than the Indian team has been extremely low which makes me wonder if we really love the game or are just obsessed with Indian superstars,” he wrote.

    Gambhir also criticized the behavior of Indian fans towards opposing teams and wrote, “During the first match between Afghanistan and India in Delhi, the spectators abused Naveen-ul-Haq and continuously chanted Kohli-Kohli in front of him because in IPL there was an argument between the two, then later, we abused Babar Azam at the toss in Ahmedabad while shouting unnecessary slogans at the Pakistani batsmen while returning to the pavilion.”

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    Gambhir further wrote that it is unimaginable that a society which gave the world the “concept of ‘the whole world is one family’ could be so contradictory”.

    Addressing his nation, the former cricketer wrote, “If we want to win the bid for the 2036 Olympic Games, we have to adopt a more neutral attitude.”

    He mentioned that Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur also criticized the atmosphere and said that it does not seem like an ICC event.

    “Also when I was commentating there in Ahmedabad, I was not at all proud to see such bigoted behavior,” Gambhir wrote.

    The former cricketer wrote that he is in favor of competition in sports and supporting any team but, added, “That does not give us the license to abuse and humiliate the opposing team.”

  • ICC new ODI rankings: Babar Azam remains number one batsman

    ICC new ODI rankings: Babar Azam remains number one batsman

    The ranking of ODI players has been released by the ICC. Pakistan captain Babar Azam has retained the first position while India’s Shubman Gill has maintained the second position in the ranking.

    South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has moved up to the third position and South Africa’s Rasi van der Dusen has moved down to the fourth position.

    The national team’s opening batsman Imam ul Haq is in the 10th position and Fakhar Zaman is in the 13th position.

    In the ranking of ODI bowlers, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood is on the first, New Zealand’s Trent Boult is on the second, and India’s Mohammad Siraj is on the third position.

    Among the ODI all-rounders, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is at the top.

  • ‘When you have your crowd then you get the support’: Saud Shakeel

    ‘When you have your crowd then you get the support’: Saud Shakeel

    Pakistan paid a heavy price for being “under extra pressure” in their World Cup defeat by arch-rivals India, said batsman Saud Shakeel, who Wednesday lamented the absence of the team’s passionate supporters from the tournament.

    Pakistan were thrashed by seven wickets on Saturday at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-capacity stadium where there was only a handful of Pakistani supporters.

    Babar Azam’s team slumped from a solid 155-2 in the 30th over to be dismissed for a paltry 191.

    “I think we were under extra pressure so we tried to get out of that and wanted to play shots,” Shakeel told AFP on Wednesday.

    The smattering of Pakistani fans at the game were expatriates from the United Kingdon and United States.

    Supporters from across the border are effectively banned after a failure to gain visas.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday lodged an official complaint with the world governing body over the visa delays which have also kept many members of the country’s media at home.

    The PCB also complained over what they described as the “inappropriate behaviour” of Indian fans towards the Pakistan squad at the Ahmedabad game.

    “When you have your crowd then you get the support. We did not get that and it was not in our hands,” added Shakeel.

    Despite an eighth loss in eight World Cup meetings with their arch-rivals, Pakistan are still well-placed in the tournament after wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

    Middle-order batsman Shakeel scored 68 against the Netherlands before making 31 in the game with Sri Lanka. He was out for just six against India.

    Next up for Pakistan is another high-profile duel, this time with five-time champions Australia in Bengaluru on Friday.

    “The mistakes we committed in the last game, we must overcome them. That match is gone. If we win against Australia then our position will get better,” added Shakeel.

    “Australia are always good in the World Cup. They are a very good side. We know our strong areas and we must play good cricket.”

    “We had a good start to the tournament with two wins. We want to go match by match and not commit the mistakes we did against India.”

    On Wednesday, all the Pakistan players with the exception of Mohammad Haris trained in Bengaluru.

    Haris is still suffering from a fever which laid low many of the squad when they arrived from Ahmedabad.

    Star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and opener Abdullah Shafique were the worst hit but were present in the nets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

  • ‘We have beaten India in T20, its not that we can’t beat them here’: Babar Azam

    ‘We have beaten India in T20, its not that we can’t beat them here’: Babar Azam

    Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said in a press conference held before the Pakistan-India match in the World Cup 2023, that his team does not focus on what happened in the past. “We focus on what is happening now, but we will try to give a good performance in tomorrow’s match,” he remarked.

    Babar Azam said that he has not batted as well as he should have in the World Cup so far. Stating that he does not know what the result of tomorrow’s match will be, Babar stressed that he has confidence in the team.

    Talking about Pakistan’s bowling line, Babar Azam said about Naseem Shah, “We will miss him in the World Cup for his impressive bowling in the Asia Cup. I believe in Shaheen Afridi. He is a big-match bowler.”

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    An up-and-down performance in a couple of matches does not mean that there is a question mark, Babar said about his star bowler. “If Pakistan wants to win the World Cup, the fielding should be better,” he told the press.

    He further said that there is no pressure on the players. “I hope we will get support here like in Hyderabad. We have beaten India in T20, it’s not that we can’t beat them here.”

  • Pakistan’s victory against India could be sweet surprise for Babar Azam

    Pakistan’s victory against India could be sweet surprise for Babar Azam

    Cricket fans are holding their breath in anticipation of the showdown between arch-rivals Pakistan and India, scheduled to be played on Saturday. The match is not just another game for fans, it’s an emotional rollercoaster.

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    Pakistan’s victory against India will not just be a surprise for Pakistani cricket fans, it will also be a double surprise for Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam as the day after the Pak-India match is his birthday. Pakistan’s victory could be the sweetest surprise for Babar Azam.

    Remember that this arch-rival match will be played on October 14 and Babar Azam’s birthday is October 15.