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‘Made Mistakes’ - Babar Azam Hints PAK Captaincy Extension Despite World Cup 2023 Exit

image-louajwqtPakistan captain Babar Azam during the 2023 World Cup (x.com)

Pakistan, needing to defeat England by a record margin to keep their World Cup 2023 semi-final hopes alive, ended up losing the contest by 93 runs at the Eden Gardens. The defeat snapped Pakistan’s newfound winning momentum and ensured that they finished the league stage at number five, i.e., just outside the reach for the semi-finals on the points table.

After Pakistan’s latest debacle, team captain Babar Azam reflected his side’s tumultuous run throughout the tournament, and cited their close defeat to South Africa as the primary reason behind their first-round exit.

Babar Azam hints at captaincy extension

Pakistan squandered away their successive wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka upfront by losing five of their subsequent seven World Cup 2023 fixtures.

Skipper Babar Azam reflected his side’s uneven campaign, and stated that the situation would have been different for them at the moment had they upstaged South Africa in their Chennai thriller. While speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the ‘Men in Green’ captain said:

“A very disappointing performance from the team. We tried our best but failed to get through. We started off well but failed to carry that momentum for the rest of the tournament. If we had won that South Africa game, the story would have been a different one for us. We didn't field well or bowl well in a few games. We have made mistakes in all three departments- bowling, fielding and batting.”

Coming back to their recent game, Babar Azam claimed that his spinners failed to contain England in the middle overs, and blamed his bowlers for giving away 30 additional runs by conceding loose deliveries in the death overs. England eventually amassed 337-9 in their innings, which turned out to be 93 runs better than Pakistan’s best run-chase efforts later in the evening. The Pakistan skipper added:

“Today, we gave 30 runs extra. We bowled loose deliveries. Our spinners didn't take the wickets, which didn't help us. It affected us a lot. If spinners don't take wickets in the middle phase, you tend to struggle.”

Pakistan’s dwindling performance throughout the 2023 World Cup also sparked several rumours around the cricketing spectrum regarding the fate of Babar Azam’s future as team captain. While several media outlets strongly claiming that the ongoing tournament might well mark Babar’s final set of matches as Pakistan skipper, the cricketer himself dropped a subtle hint of having his tenure extended.

During the presentation, the batting veteran said that the team will soon be reflecting upon their performance, and he himself will try to “best” out his experience to lead his side in their “future” assignments. Babar Azam stated:

“Yeah, we will sit together and see how to move forward. We will take the positives from this tournament and discuss our mistakes. Yes, I will try my best to put my experience and lead this side in the future.”