Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja questioned about the strategies and tactics of the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam after their team’s humiliating loss against Afghanistan in Chennai. Babar’s captaincy tactics came under scrutiny following their hat-trick of losses in the tournament putting them in a spot of bother to qualify for the final four of the marquee event.
Despite his exquisite batting in International Cricket, Babar Azam’s captaincy and on-field tactics have never been without controversy. His poor assessments have caused Pakistan to lose steam on multiple occasions. Babar’s excessively defensive field placements and bowling modifications have led to the team’s failure in the ongoing ODI World Cup.
Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Ramiz Raja feels that the Pakistan team has a lot of things to deal with but wants skipper Babar Azam to improve his strategies in the field. He specifically mentioned his captaincy error against Afghanistan, where he neglected to use Hasan Ali at the tail end of the innings when he had some reverse swing on the ball, and asserted that the loss to Afghanistan was a massive defeat for the 1992 Champions.
“Pakistan has a lot of problems to deal with. Babar Azam needs to improve a lot tactically. Hasan Ali was getting the ball to reverse towards the back end of the innings. The equation was run-a-ball at that stage. Pakistan needed wickets, and Hasan Ali looked very close to getting a dismissal. What was the need to bowl a spinner from the other end?”
“It was a massive disaster for Pakistan in this World Cup. Losing to Afghanistan will hurt badly. The disappointment was writ large on Babar Azam’s face when I interviewed him… Pakistan have never dealt with a surprising defeat like this one before,” Ramiz Raja said.
With only two wins from five games, the Men in Green will find it tough to make it to the semifinals. They would find it particularly challenging to accept their defeat against Afghanistan as they failed to put a fight on the surface that assisted the spinners.
Babar Azam Needs To Step Up And Prove Himself As A Leader – Ramiz Raja
Ramiz Raja wants the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to have a serious discussion regarding the team’s performance after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup and has called for a brand new approach and tactics going forward and feels that the team needs to improve on every aspect of the game and urged Babar Azam to step up and prove himself in the remaining games of the marquee event.
“After this World Cup, there has to be a serious discussion about altering the DNA of this team. They need a complete overhaul in terms of mindset, approach, new talent, and new ideas. We need to improve on every aspect. Pakistan have hit rock bottom. Babar Azam needs to step up and prove himself as a leader amid all this,” Ramiz Raja added.
Pakistan has suffered three straight losses in the 2023 World Cup. Babar and company are in fifth place in the World Cup points standings with three losses and two victories and they will look to turn things around when they take on the inform South Africa on Friday.
