As Pakistan cricket goes through one of its toughest periods, Babar Azam is one player who is in the thick of criticism the men’s national team is getting. A 0-2 Test series defeat at the hands of Bangladesh at home is being labelled as the national team’s worst in the longest format by many. One of the reasons behind Pakistan’s poor show on the 22-yard pitch is the underperformance of top players like Babar Azam. While many former Pakistan cricketers have criticised Babar over the last few weeks, Basit Ali advised the star batter to get married.

“Babar Azam, talk to your parents and get married. He will be a completely different man after that. I know how a player feels when he is not performing well. I request Babar’s parents to get him to marry. Like an elder brother, I want him to tell him Shaadi kar le bhai, ab umar zyada ho gayi hai teri (Get married brother, you are now old enough),” Basit Ali said in a video on his YouTube channel.

After the conclusion of last year’s ODI World Cup, Pakistan toured Australia for a three-match Test series. Pakistan endured a whitewash after being outplayed in all facets of the game. After the conclusion of the series, Pakistan’s batters were left exposed following their performances. Babar was among the players who came under the scrutiny of fans as well as former cricketers. During the three Tests, Babar mustered up 126 runs at an average of 21.

Before the T20 World Cup, Pakistan toured England to play four T20Is. In two matches, Babar racked up 68 runs across his name at an average of 34.00. In the T20 World Cup, Babar once again was left exposed after falling short with his bat. In four matches, he garnered 122 runs at an average of 40.66.

But he was heavily criticised for his below-par strike rate of 101.66. In their recently-concluded 2-match Test series against Bangladesh, in four innings, Babar produced just 64 runs from his bat.

“This is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket. They can’t go lower than this. Now, it’s the time to rise and open your eyes. If you still don’t open your eyes after losing to Bangladesh, play Test series only against Nepal and Afghanistan. Pakistan have learned a lesson and it will benefit them,” Latif said.

The Pakistan cricket team hit one of its lowest points in cricketing history, losing at home to Bangladesh in the 2-match Test series. Pakistan were swept aside by the tourists who produced one of their most memorable triumphs of all time. Though there remain a few personnel in the Pakistan team who have been drawing fans and experts’ ire, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hasn’t been immune from criticism either. In fact, former Pakistan star Rashid Latif feels it’s the Pakistan Board and its recent chairmen who deserve the most blame.

“Jitne bhi chairman aaye hain, woh tabah kar rahe hain last four years se (whoever became the chairman in the last four years has demolished Pakistan cricket),” Latif said on his show ‘Caught Behind’.

“Who brought him (Shan Masood) as (Test) captain? Who removed Babar Azam (from captaincy)? Who divided the Pakistan team?” Latif questioned in his rant against the PCB. “So what is he doing at this juncture? Giving interviews?”.

Thank You Zaka Ashraf Saheb #PAKvsBAN pic.twitter.com/GO8NjvPSPT

— Rashid Latif (@iRashidLatif68) September 3, 2024

The PCB’s long-term vision has also been questioned by many, especially with regards to the recent captaincy changes. Babar Azam was removed as skipper from all formats, before being reinstated as the white-ball skipper.

Latif also targeted former PCB chief Zaka Ashraf who had replaced Babar Azam with Shaheen Afridi as the team’s T20I and ODI skipper.

“Team banana kis ka kaam hai. Zaka Ashraf ka ya Misbah ka? (whose responsibility is it to make the team – Ashraf or Misbah’s)” said Latif, questioning the role of Misbah-ul-Haq who served as an advisor to Ashraf and also headed a cricket committee.

“When he (Ashraf) was doing everything, making team and appointing captains, who is he blaming then – Babar?” Latif further said. “You forcibly made Babar resign. The team started disintegrating from there itself. It was you who made Shan the captain for your own benefit, to break the team. So your team is broken now.”

“Those who did the damage and left, how will they be held accountable? Chairman-ship should never be honorary. These guys are not audited. It should be written in the (PCB) Constitution that you (chairman) can’t appoint a captain, can’t form a selection committee,” Latif continued.

“You have given the entire power into the hands of a chairman. They know nothing about cricket.”

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was denied the leadership role as Team India made a shock captaincy pick in Suryakumar Yadav for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Hardik’s snub and Suryakumar’s elevation as captain has sparked a big debate in the cricketing fraternity. Over the past couple of years, Hardik led India in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma, and was also assigned the vice-captaincy for the recently concluded T20 World Cup, which India won after beating South Africa in the final in Barbados.

Suryakumar, on the other hand, led India last year during the T20I series’ against Australia and South Africa.

While Rohit Sharma announced his T20I retirement last month, Hardik didn’t even get the vice-captaincy, with the selectors picking Shubman Gill for that role in both T20Is and ODIs.

Speaking in a press conference, India chief selector Ajit Agarkar clarified that fitness and availability for all matches was the reason why the national selectors opted for Suryakumar, and not Hardik, who has had a history of injury concerns.

Amid the ongoing debate, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has lashed out at the Indian selectors, saying that fitness is just an excuse for not making Hardik the captain.

“No, here they (the claims) should just hand him a certificate saying he isn’t fit and there are concerns about his fitness. There are plenty of players who weren’t super fit but still became great captains. So, I think it was just an excuse. Because if Surya wasn’t around, then Rishabh (Pant) would have been the captain since you have to look at the future,” Latif said on his YouTube channel.

The first T20I of the three-match series will begin on July 27 in Pallekele, followed by matches on July 28 and 30 at the same venue.

India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

Rashid Latif has fired an ultimatum to star Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.© AFP

Several Pakistan cricket greats such as Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad praised Indian stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for timing their retirement to perfection following the team’s triumph in the just-concluded T20 World Cup. India outwitted South Africa by seven runs in a topsy-turvy final at Barbados to lift their second T20 world title. “I have always been a fan of Rohit’s batting and try to follow him when matches are on TV. Kohli’s greatness is there for all to see his records speak for itself but Rohit I am happy that he could win the World Cup for his country,” yesteryear’s batting stalwart Zaheer Abbas said.

Javed Miandad, one of Pakistan’s greatest batters, said both the stalwarts had taken retirement at the right time.

“We will still see them in Test and 50-overs cricket but it is befitting for their career that they left T20 internationals in glory,” Miandad said.

He said both the players remained role models for any cricketing system.

“The discipline and professionalism and fitness of Kohli makes him a top role model to follow and his admirers will be as good as him as well,” he said.

Legendary pacer Waqar Younis said both Rohit and Kohli stood up for India in crunch situations and won matches for their country.

He also praised Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling throughout the World Cup and said he had become a pure match winner for India.

Rashid Latif said the credit of India’s success and the fact that they made three finals of the ICC events in the last one year suggested that their team management was in sync with the players.

“Rahul Dravid and his support team deserve a lot of credit for what India has achieved today. He has given a clear pathway to the Indian team and to the players,” Latif said.

Shahid Afridi said Rohit was an exceptional leader and Kohli had always been a big match performer.

“Both Rohit and Kohli have done the right thing to retire on a high after leading India to the World Cup title.” Mohsin Hasan Khan, the former Test batter, head coach and chief selector felt that Rohit and Kohli had set a very good example for young players.

“This is how you retire from any format in glory.” He said India now had the back-up talent in T20 cricket to fill in the gaps left by the retirements of Rohit and Kohli.

“But I am very impressed by the hunger of these two senior players, particularly the way Rohit led the side to finally win a World Cup.” Rohit’s five centuries in T20Is are unmatched and he now has two T20 World Cup titles, taking him to a league of his own.

Pakistan’s earlier-than-expected elimination from the ongoing T20 World Cup has paved the way for different conspiracy theories in the local media. From groupism to rift withing the senion members of the team, the local media has presented several concepts to suggest the reason behind the team’s disaster show in the Americas. While majority of the former players have entirely put the blame of the players, ex-captain Rashid Latif has time and time again highlighted the role PCB has played in the team’s downfall.

Earlier this week, Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf was confronted by a man on the streets of Miami, Florida. In a viral video, Haris had lost his cool at the man, who must’ve said something derrogatory to the player.

Angered by the action of the man, Haris was seen chasing the person to beat him. However, the people around them, including Haris’ wife, stopped the two doing anything stupid.

PCB also reacted to the whole episode, saying that they would take legal action against the man if he refuses to apologise to Haris.

Over the past few days, there have been rumours of spot fixing circulating in the media. Latif has now targetted the PCB for not addressing the match-fixing allegations that have been doing rounds on social media.

“Pakistan’s exclusion from the World Cup has caused the biggest loss to our electronic media, which includes news channels and sports broadcasters (broadcasting rights). Those who have the broadcast rights to show the match are expected to lose 30% to 35%. The ratings of the channels are also surprisingly low as the Pakistan team is back home and the news channels and sports channels are blaming the players and the team to keep themselves alive and the cricket board is a silent spectator. While in Haris Rauf’s case, Chairman PCB’s X message came immediately, but where a serious allegation like match-fixing was made, the entire legal department is silent and coincidentally, PCB’s CEO is a lawyer by profession. People are understanding that maybe it did not change the direction of the cannons to save itself?,” Latif wrote in a post on X.

pic.twitter.com/3MLSEcuqM8

— Rashid Latif | (@iRashidLatif68) June 21, 2024

Successive poor shows in the ODI World Cup 2023 and the 2024 T20 World Cup, has put a big question mark on the Babar Azam-led Pakistan. 

This time around the reaction to the exit is stronger because Pakistan started the tournament with an unexpected loss against debutants USA. 

Then they loss against India. The two losses proved to be Pakistan’s nemesis as they were knocked out despite winning their last two encounters.  

Following Pakistan’s earlier than expected exit from the T20 World Cup, reports have emerged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to take some strict actions against the players. While some reports have claimed that the board is set to sack 8-9 players from the current squad, others suggested that the cricketers face the risk of having their central contracts reviewed and their salaries potentially reduced. Even PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, after the loss the India, suggested that a “major surgery”, added that board might have to “look beyond” the current players in the squad.

“It seemed initially that a minor surgery would suffice but following the extremely poor performance against India, it is clear that a major surgery is necessary,” Naqvi said after Pakistan lost to India.

“Our performance is at its lowest. Improving the team’s performance is our biggest challenge. It is very disappointing the way we lost to the USA, and now, this loss isto India. We need to now start looking at players beyond those in the team right now,” he added.

However, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif refused to put the entire blame on the players, adding that the PCB is equally responsible for the debacle.

“250 million Pakistanis have the right to know which selector voted in favour of which player. PCB should reveal the minutes of last meeting of the selection committee,” Latif retweeted a Pakistani journalist on X.

Latif suggested that all the PCB members need to be sacked, along with the governing body of the apex board.

“Before we shift blame to the players, first the PCB & its governing body needs to be sacked! They are the people responsible for selecting the players & management for this tour, and training them physically & mentally for the T20 WC! Heads must roll! But would they???” read another tweet that Latif reposted.

Last year, the then PCB chief Zaka Ashraf announced significant increase in player earnings, as well as a fixed share of revenue from the PCB’s earnings from the ICC.

Naqvi also had announced before the World Cup in USA and West Indies that each player would get a bonus payment of USD 100,000 if they win the tournament.

(With PTI Inputs)

Pakistan’s former players are not expecting the team to do well in the T20 World Cup starting in the Americas from Saturday. Pakistan lost a T20I in Ireland and then suffered a 0-2 defeat in England this week, not the ideal result before a global event. Before that, they drew 2-2 at home with a New Zealand side that was missing many of its World Cup squad members. “They are not getting their combination right, which is their biggest problem,” former captain Rashid Latif said.

He feels Pakistan need to not only shuffle their batting but make more use of their spinners.

“Not only shuffle, but players need to be prepared to play at floating roles now in T20 cricket as per the match situation,” he added.

The legendary Javed Miandad is banking on the unpredictability factor.

“They are unpredictable and always seem to do well in these T20 World Cups. But yes, they need to definitely improve in some areas quickly because, with a 20-team event, you can’t afford to relax even in one game,” he said.

Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam said in his post-match conference at the Oval that although it was disappointing to lose the series to England, the World Cup will be a different challenge.

“We have capable (and) talented players, and we will come good in the World Cup,” he said.

Many cricket fans are not happy with the selection or performance of Azam Khan, who was dismissed cheaply at the Oval and dropped two catches.

Azam, who has followed in the footsteps of his father, Moin Khan, as a wicketkeeper-batter, has been trolled mercilessly on social media since Thursday.

But it is not just Azam who has been a disappointment. All-rounder Shadab Khan has also been struggling for runs, as has Iftikhar Ahmed, who has failed to make any impact while batting down the order.

The bowlers also have been having too many of -days, with pacer Naseem Shah going for 25 in an over in the power play at The Oval, while Mohammad Amir conceded 28 in two overs.

Some officials in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are worried that if the team doesn’t reach the World Cup semi-finals, the fan base will take a big hit, which would not help the board in its preparations for the Champions Trophy next year.

“If the team does not perform well, it is no secret it has a big effect on the number of sponsors and broadcasters lining up to invest in Pakistan cricket,” an official said.

“I think Babar just needs to bat at number three, and they should make Saim (Ayub) or Fakhar (Zaman) open with Mohammad Rizwan,” suggested former player Basit Ali. PTI Corr AYG AH AH

PCB officials have been ignoring text messages of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.© AFP