After an underwhelming show in the Asia Cup 2023, which was played last month, Babar Azam-led Pakistan will look to start fresh in the upcoming World Cup, starting from Thursday. The Pakistan unit despite being ranked one at that moment faced tough defeats against India and Sri Lanka, following which reports of rifts emerged in the Pakistan dressing room.
The matter was addressed by team’s leading figures Shaheen Shah Afridi and the captain himself. In an attempt to quash the claims as rumours, Shaheen tweeted a photo of him with Babar and wrote “family” on social media. A similar feeling was resonated by Babar in the press-conference before leaving for India for the World Cup.
Addressing the matter, Babar too emphasised on the word “family”and said “respect is given to everyone,” also saying the situation as misinterpreted.
If that gave fans a reassurance of things being fine in the dressing room, especially with the World Cup lined-up, Shadab Khan’s hilarious banters poked at Babar during the warm-up tie against Australia on Tuesday will certainly lift up the mood.
When asked about the reason behind Babar being rested for the warm-up fixture as Shadab walked up for the toss, the all-rounder said: “He is okay but Babar wanted a rest.” However, he quickly tried to pull his captain’s legs by adding: “I am that type of captain that he (Babar Azam) will come field and carry drinks as well.”
Interestingly, Shadab too mentioned the word “family” while discussing the team bonding during toss.
“We are like a family. We are best friends. That’s the beauty of our team. We will win or lose as a team. Winning is always a habit. We want a win. Great opportunity for our team to get some confidence from here,” he said.
Babar gears up for World Cup
Despite not choosing to field, Babar did spend time in the middle when Pakistan were asked to chase 352. Although Pakistan fell short by 15 runs from completing the task but Babar scored 90 off 59 deliveries before retiring hurt and gave others a chance.
Apart from Babar, Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz too had a good outing with the bat, giving an indication of Pakistan’s batting depth.
