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'Babar Azam Not Alone To Blame…' - Wasim Akram After Pakistan’s World Cup 2023 Exit

image-lov62imvBabar Azam leads team off the field after close defeat to SA at 2023 World Cup (x.com)

Wasim Akram has come out in defense of Pakistan captain Babar Azam considering the latter has been subjected to severe criticism following team’s crashing exit from the 2023 World Cup.

Under Babar, the ‘Men in Green’ launched their tournament campaign with emphatic wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad. However, Pakistan squandered away their near-perfect start by losing five of their seven subsequent fixtures to crash out of the semi-finals race. Team’s tumultuous campaign has sparked several debates among fans and cricket experts, with most calling for the resignation of Babar Azam from captaincy.

Wasim Akram says entire team at fault

Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram defended Babar Azam’s captaincy, and levelled blame against the entire team management for early elimination from the 2023 World Cup.

Akram stated that an individual should not be made a scapegoat alone and Pakistan’s disastrous performance should be attributed to the entire management. While speaking on A Sports, the former fast bowler said:

“The captain alone is not playing the game. Yes he did make captaincy errors in this World Cup and in Asia Cup as well. But he isn't alone to blame. This is a fault of the entire system for the last one year or more where the players don't know who is the coach. You cannot make him the scapegoat here.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who held on to his number one ODI rankings as a batsman for nearly three years, also lost his crown to Indian batting prodigy Shubman Gill during the course of the 2023 World Cup.

Babar managed to score just 320 runs throughout nine World Cup 2023 innings at a below-par average of 40. The batting veteran also held a significantly lower strike-rate, that of 82.90, and failed to register a single century to his name during the tournament.

Babar Azam’s subsequent captaincy assignment now features a grueling three-Test tour of Australia, set to commence this December in Perth.