Word-cup-winning Indian skipper Kapil Dev has defended under firing Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the wake of his Pakistan poor performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The Men in Green have fallen short of expectations, as they were unable to advance to the semifinals of the highly anticipated tournament in India.
Babar Azam was under more strain after Pakistan could not make it to the semi-finals after losing five of their nine games, including a devastating loss to India. In their last eight World Cup games, Team India has triumphed over Pakistan eight straight times and suffered its first-ever loss as a result of Afghanistan.
Speaking on a YouTube podcast, Kapil Dev supported Babar Azam, stressing that it would be wrong to judge him only on his current performance. He cited Azam’s past accomplishments and emphasized that, just six months earlier, he had guided the Pakistani team to the top of the ICC ODI rankings and lauded him for the passion that he has for the game.
“If you say that Babar Azam is not the right choice [for captaincy] today, it is because you are looking at just his current performance. He was the same captain, who made Pakistan team No.1 [in ICC ODI rankings] six months ago.”
“When someone gets out for zero, 99 percent of the people would want him to be dropped. If an ordinary player comes and scores a brilliant hundred, then they call him a superstar. So don’t look at just current performance. Look at how he has approached the game, how much passion and talent he has,” Kapil Dev said.
The Pakistani skipper has failed to live up to expectations, failing to make an impactful performance for the team in the ODI World Cup. Babar Azam looked short of confidence since the start of the tournament scoring only 320 runs with four fifties at an average of 40, which reflected on his decision on the field and with his batting.
There’s So Much Pressure On Babar Azam That He May Leave The Job – Ramiz Raja
Former Pakistan Chairman Ramiz Raja believes that the axe would fall on the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam following the team’s dismissal show in the ODI World Cup and feels that the Pakistan captain may face the heat due to the poor performance in the event.
“There’s so much pressure on him that he may leave the job, Back home there has obviously been a massive backlash, as expected. The Pakistan media have targeted certain players, and especially Babar Azam,” Kapil Dev added.
“It’s just a World Cup so you have to take the heat somehow. The problem with this team is it has the potential to play modern-day cricket but they have been a bit shy and timid with their approach,” Ramiz Raja said.
Since winning their first World Cup back in 1992, Pakistan has not triumphed in the competition. They have only once, in 1999, advanced to the final since then. The Babar Azam-led team was among the favourites to win the tournament, but they utterly failed to leave an impression.
