LAHORE: Axe is likely to fall on skipper Babar Azam, head coach Grant Bradburn and team director Mickey Arthur after dismal performance in the 2023 World Cup cricket hosted by India.
The green shirts lost a record five matches in the world event, including to newcomers Afghanistan.
Insiders revealed that a “crucial” discussion began in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) even before the match against former world champion England. They expressed the apprehension that Babar might be replaced as the captain in white-ball cricket.
It is learnt that the management committee of the PCB is considering to retain him for the Test series against Australia beginning next month. There are also unconfirmed reports that Babar may resign as captain.
Meanwhile, it is also learnt that the board is contemplating to appoint local coaches instead of relying on foreign ones. The PCB has reportedly contacted former Pakistani cricketers in this regard.
It may be recalled that former fast bowler Waqar Younis has as head coach of the Pakistan team twice. Aqib Javed and batsman Younis Khan have also worked as bowling and batting coaches with the team in the past. The PCB management committee will take a decision after evaluating the team’s performance in the world cup.
‘No crime to make mistakes’
Pakistan captain Babar Azam was described as “depressed” and under pressure to save his job Sunday after the team crashed out of the Cricket World Cup, failing to make the semifinals for a second successive tournament.
A 93-run loss to England sealed Pakistan’s fate, ending the 1992 champions’ already slim hopes of squeezing into the last four.
Former Pakistan captain and ex-chairman of the country’s cricket board Ramiz Raja said that 29-year-old Azam was “depressed” over the reaction at home.
Fans’ anger would have been made more acute by seeing arch-rivals India sweeping to eight wins out of eight, becoming the first team to reach the semifinals.
Azam’s team lost five of their nine games including a seven-wicket mauling by India in front of more than 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad.
That was India’s eighth victory in eight World Cup games against their neighbors.
Pakistan also lost to Afghanistan for the first time.
Azam made 320 runs at the World Cup with four fifties at an average of 40 and remains the world’s second highest-ranked batsman. He has almost 13,000 runs in all international cricket.
However, it was his captaincy in India which was questioned when he faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.
Pakistan media consistently accused him of favoring his friends in selection.
“I get behind Babar. Babar is very, very close to me. He’s a young guy that needs to be taken on the journey, he needs to be shown the ropes,” said Pakistan’s director of cricket Mickey Arthur.
Azam has been captain of the Test and ODI teams since 2020.
“He’s still learning all the time. We know he’s a very, very fine batsman. He learns every day with his captaincy,” added Arthur.
“We have to allow him the time to grow. And in order to do that, you make mistakes. It’s not a crime to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes.”
