Karachi. The Pakistan team, which made it to the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup last time, got eliminated in the first round this time due to a disappointing performance. An underrated team like the USA created a sensation by defeating Babar Azam’s team in the super over. Factionalism within the team and the poor performance of senior players at crucial moments are being blamed for the early exit from the tournament.
After this poor performance, there can be ‘big changes’ in the team as well as the PCB. According to sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the biggest challenge for Babar Azam on his return as captain was to unite the team but he could not do so due to factionalism. Shaheen Shah Afridi is angry at losing the captaincy and Babar not supporting him when needed, while Mohammad Rizwan is unhappy at not being considered for the captaincy.
A team source told PTI-Bhasha, “There are three factions in the team, one is led by Babar Azam, while the other is led by Afridi and the third by Rizwan. Amidst all this, the return of senior players like Mohammad Aamir and Imad Wasim made the situation of the team worse.”
He further said, “The return of Imad and Aamir added to the confusion as it was difficult for Babar to get any meaningful performance from these two. Both of them had not played top level domestic or international cricket for a long time except franchise based leagues. There were also instances where some players were not talking to each other. Some of them also tried to please the players leading the three camps of the team.
Tags: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan cricket team, shaheen afridi, T20 World Cup
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 15, 2024, 16:48 IST