Karachi. Pakistan, who made it to the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup last time, were knocked out in the first round due to their disappointing performance this time. An underrated team like America created a sensation by defeating Babar Azam’s team in the Super Over. The early exit from the tournament was blamed on factionalism in the team and poor performance of senior players at crucial moments.
After this poor performance, there could be a ‘big change’ in the team as well as the PCB. According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sources, the biggest challenge facing Babar Azam, who returned 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, “There are three factions in the team, one is led by Babar Azam, the second is Afridi and the third is led by Rizwan. Amidst all this, the team’s situation worsened with the return of senior players like Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim.
He further said, “The withdrawal of Imad and Aamir added to the confusion as it was difficult for Babar to get any meaningful performances from either of them. The duo had not played top-level domestic or international cricket for a long time, except in franchise-based leagues. There were also instances where some players were not talking to each other. Some of them even tried to please the players leading all 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