After just two wins out of their first five matches at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been feeling the heat.
Though they defeated Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their first couple of games, Pakistan were demoloshed by India before Australia outplayed them.
However, the pressure on the team intensified after a surprise loss against Afghanistan on Monday at Chennai.
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Not only has Pakistan now lost three games on the trot, their semifinal chances are now extremely slim. With the team looking down the barrell, captain Babar Azam has been slammed in multiple quarters with his captaincy and leadership abilities called into question by fans and pundits alike.
However, Babar has found some solace in former Pakistan opening batsman Aamer Sohail who feels the 29-year-old has been unfairly targetted.
What did Aamer Sohail say about Babar Azam?
Sohail, who played 156 ODIs for Pakistan, claimed that Babar's captaincy is being targetted by factions who want to see the team destroyed. He felt that there has been constant attempts to undermine Babar as a captain and this is being done by parties with vested interests.
Sohail went on to highlight that Babar led Pakistan to the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and the semifinal of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the past. And that success has not gone well with those who want their favourites as captain instead of Babar.
"Pakistan cricket has been doing it for a while. They all know that criticise the captaincy and the team will crumble. Especially after a World Cup. This is being done by lobbysts who have vested interests," he said.
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"Babar's captaincy had become strong and (they didn't like it). He led Pakistan to the final of the T20 World Cup and semifinal of another one. He also took the team to the Asia Cup final (2022). They started attacking him ever since. And not just his captaincy but they also went after his batting. Why don't they show some sincerety to the game?" Sohail asked.
Interestingly, plenty of former Pakistan players have criticised the leadership skills of Babar after the Afghanistan debacle. Also worth noting that there have been calls from various sections of Pakistan cricket that Shaheen Afridi or Imam-ul-haq are future captaincy materials.
How many points do Pakistan need to make the World Cup semi-finals?
The maximum points that Pakistan could reach at the end of their group stage is 12. However, judging by what happened in the 2019 World Cup, 12 points could be enough to see a team reach the semifinal. Pakistan cannot make any mistakes from here on out.
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