Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the Pakistan team has progressed backwards rather than forward after a change in their captaincy. Harbhajan Singh also believes that the Pakistan Cricket Team decided to change their captain at the wrong time.
Pakistan gave a poor show in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India last year. They could not qualify for the semi-finals. Moreover, they also faced a heavy defeat against hosts India, where they could not cross 200 runs on the board in 1st innings. Later, the Pakistan team also lost to Afghanistan, which came as a huge blow for Pakistan cricket fans.
Due to Pakistan’s miserable show, there were heavy consequences. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam left captaincy from all three formats after the World Cup. Shan Masood was named as the Test skipper.
Pacer Shaheen Afridi was picked as the T20I skipper. However, both of them delivered horrible shows in their first campaign as captains.
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Captaincy Change Came At Wrong Time: Harbhajan Singh
Sharing his views on Pakistan Team’s current situation with cricket Pakistan, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said that the captaincy change was a reaction to World Cup failure. Singh spoke to them on the sidelines of the ILT20 2024 league in the UAE.
“The change in captaincy was a reaction to the World Cup. Pakistan’s team did not perform well, and it was a reaction to that. It’s evident that cricket holds significant importance in both India and Pakistan, and if a team doesn’t perform well in the World Cup, it can have a profound impact on players’ careers”, Singh said.
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Pakistan Progressed Backward After Captaincy Change: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, who played over 100 Tests and 200 ODIs for India, also feels that the decision was not taken at the right time and has sent the Pakistan team backwards rather than forward.
“I think it was a reaction, but I believe the decision was not taken at the right time. Sometimes, a decision made too late can set you back, and perhaps this decision is one of the reasons that Pakistan’s cricket has progressed backward rather than forward,” the cricketer-turned-commrentator Harbhajan Singh further added.
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Pakistan Lost 3-0 To Australia; 4-1 To New Zealand
Shan Masood led Pakistan in the three-match away series against Australia last month. However, Pakistan team faced a horrible result in the series by facing a whitewash 3-0. Australia outplayed Pakistan by huge margins in all three games.
Pakistan also faced a similar result in the T20I series against New Zealand this month. Pakistan team travelled to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series led by new skipper Shaheen Afridi.
However, they lost four back-to-back matches at the start. They managed to win the final game but faced a humiliating 4-1 defeat in the series.
Now, Pakistan players will be busy with Pakistan Super League 2024 (PSL 2024) in February and March. They will later tour England for a four-match T20I series in May. PSL 2024 commences on February 18 and observe the final on March 18.
