‘Not crime to make mistakes’: PCB backs ‘depressed’ Babar Azam after World Cup failure

To boost the morale of Babar Azam, the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, following their disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, team director Mickey Arthur emphasized that making mistakes is not a crime. Speculation had arisen about Azam potentially stepping down as the captain of white-ball cricket due to the team’s subpar performance.

The Green Shirts, as the Pakistan cricket team is known, won only four out of eight games in the tournament and currently hold the fifth position with a net run rate (NRR) of 0.036. Reports suggested that Azam faced pressure from fellow cricketers to relinquish his captaincy role.

Speaking on the Geo News program ‘Harna Mana Hai,’ former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq suggested that Babar Azam should voluntarily step down from the captaincy to set an example.

Director Mickey Arthur expressed his support for Azam, stating, “I get behind Babar. Babar is very, very close to me. He’s a young guy who needs to be taken on the journey; he needs to be shown the ropes.” Azam has been the captain of the Test and ODI teams since 2020, and Arthur emphasized that he is still learning and growing in his captaincy role.

“We have to allow him the time to grow. And to do that, you make mistakes. It’s not a crime to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes,” Arthur added.

Despite the team’s disappointing performance, Azam and his team received sympathy in India, where only a few Pakistan fans were present due to visa complications. Former captain Ramiz Raja noted that Azam was “depressed” over the reaction at home, and fans’ disappointment was compounded by arch-rivals India’s successful run in the tournament.

Azam, who made 320 runs at the World Cup with four fifties at an average of 40, remains the world’s second-highest-ranked batsman. However, his captaincy in India came under scrutiny, with accusations of lacking aggression in field settings and favoritism in player selection.

Raja suggested that Azam may become the first victim of the internal conflicts that often plague Pakistan cricket. “There’s so much pressure on him that he may leave the job,” Raja stated, highlighting the intense scrutiny faced by the team and its potential to play modern-day cricket with a more assertive approach.