(AP Photo)
Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, reflected on the errors his team committed in matches against arch-rivals India and fellow group members USA during the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their campaign concluded after a narrow victory over Ireland by three wickets at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida on Monday.
Azam played a crucial role with 32 runs to guide Pakistan in chasing down 107 runs in a tense run-chase that nearly saw the former champions lose control of the game.
“I think with the bowling, conditions suited our bowlers. But in batting, we made a few mistakes in the matches against the USA and India. When you lose wickets, the pressure is on you,” said Babar in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We couldn’t finish off close games, and as a team, we weren’t good,” he admitted.
After losing their initial matches to India and the USA, the 2009 T20 World Champions bounced back with victories over Canada and Ireland. The captain expressed satisfaction as they concluded their tournament on a positive note.
“Yes, we finished well. We took early wickets with the ball. But with the bat, we didn’t finish well. We lost back-to-back wickets, but got over the line in the end.”
Amid uncertainty about his future as captain after disappointing performances in both the ODI and T20 World Cups, Babar Azam remains optimistic. He emphasizes the quality of players in the national team and vows that they will regroup and address their weaknesses moving forward.
“Let’s see, what the team needs, I’ll be okay with it. We have a good bunch of players, we’ve to go home, chat and see where we lacked, and then come back,” he added.
Pakistan needs significant improvement, particularly in their batting department. Despite commendable performances by the bowling unit, notably against India, inconsistent batting has been a major setback throughout the tournament.
The PCB faces substantial decisions and planning to ensure Pakistan Cricket returns to its peak swiftly. Their upcoming challenge is a three-match ODI series against Australia scheduled for November this year.
