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"I just want to know whether the team management wasn't looking after injuries to Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam": Aaqib Javed

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Aaqib Javed made following statements during press conference today:

"Babar Azam faced an injury during the T20 World Cup. When he came back from Sri Lanka, our doctors have a look at him. His injury is preventing him from playing in the National T20. He wanted to play, but the injury is not letting him do so,”

"We are requesting the PCB. We have asked for an inquiry to be done. How can it happen that both Fakhar and Babar are unfit? After the World Cup, have we learned about the injuries to these two players? I just want to know whether the team management wasn't looking after their injuries? Were they fully fit? We selectors should know about this, but when the players go for the World Cup, their health issues and injury concerns should be looked after by the head coach and the physio. We should know about it,”

"We won the Test series against England, which no one expected. In Australia, we won the ODI series after 27 years, and after that, we beat South Africa 3–0, something no one had done before. We also fought well in the Test series. In the 2025 Champions Trophy, there was an incident, but before that, the team’s performance was going fine,”

“We were hopeful about the World Cup, but the results were not good. The team should have at least reached the semi-finals,”

"In the Super 8 stage, one match was washed out by rain, and we lost one; nothing else happened. Against Sri Lanka, winning by that margin wasn’t achievable. We lost only one match. We were eliminated only on net run rate. Making it such a huge issue is too much. It’s a big issue, but not so big that our cricket is destroyed or that we can’t compete anywhere in the world.”

"Not being able to beat India in the World Cup is not an excuse, the result there is 8–0, and even the world’s best captains have played from 1975 to 2026, so set that aside."

“We have no role in deciding the playing XI. It is up to the captain and coach to choose their team,”

"For a long time, this has been happening in our country. Whenever our team loses a tournament, we immediately start saying there should be accountability. People start demanding scrutiny, asking for players to be dropped or removed.

This started after the last World Cup. Then the same noise happened during the Champions Trophy and again during the Asia Cup. Whenever we lose, protests begin, and people demand that the entire team be changed. They ask for the captain to be replaced, the coach to be replaced, the selectors to be replaced, and even the Chairman to be replaced.

In doing this, we have committed many injustices. In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes in Pakistan cricket has been the constant changes from the top management downwards. If you place Pakistan cricket’s model on one side and compare it with the rest of the world on the other, I do not think any other team has made as many changes as we have."

We had high hopes from the World Cup, we couldn't perform the way we should have, we were supposed to reach the semi-finals and then go further, but it didn't happen that way,

When I got the first assignment, I went to Multan, Jason Gillespie had said that there would be no changes in the 15-member team, it was decided then that the selection committee would also be included in the 11, because the selection committee couldn't just sit idle, we then brought in a professional coach, our understanding was that the coach should also get a free hand,

This time too we gave 20 players and from them they saw who is suitable for the combination, a policy is being made for the future and when coaches come, we will talk to them that the 15-member team should be formed jointly by the selection committee, coach, and captain, domestic tournaments don't happen in view of international events, it can't be that we select for an international event based on one event,

A pool is already running, players are selected from that, those who are good performers get included in the pool, the right to decide the World Cup playing eleven should have been with the captain and coach, they are the ones who can tell why someone didn't play, Babar Azam is injured that's why he's neither in the Bangladesh series nor playing the T20 Cup, Fakhar Zaman is also injured, we will investigate how two players got injured right after the World Cup,

It's important to know if they got injured during the event itself, we should have knowledge of this matter, we have no hobby of sitting here and deciding the 11, that freedom should be with the coach and captain, they have to fight it out on the ground, I have no role in forming the playing eleven, it's settled that the playing eleven is the responsibility of the coach and captain۔

"In today’s era, across this entire World Cup, there is only one bowler like that - Bumrah. Because he is different. He is not a normal bowler. Even his action is unusual. When he comes in to bowl, I always say he is like the Usman Tariq of fast bowlers.”

"He bowls so quickly and in such a unique manner that a batter never really finds any flow or rhythm against him. He simply doesn’t allow it.”

"Other than him, tell me one more bowler in this entire World Cup - from any team - whom you can look at and feel satisfied that he carries the reflection of a Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or anyone like that. You won’t find one anymore."
 
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A pool is already running, players are selected from that, those who are good performers get included in the pool, the right to decide the World Cup playing eleven should have been with the captain and coach, they are the ones who can tell why someone didn't play, Babar Azam is injured that's why he's neither in the Bangladesh series nor playing the T20 Cup, Fakhar Zaman is also injured, we will investigate how two players got injured right after the World Cup,

It's important to know if they got injured during the event itself, we should have knowledge of this matter, we have no hobby of sitting here and deciding the 11, that freedom should be with the coach and captain, they have to fight it out on the ground, I have no role in forming the playing eleven, it's settled that the playing eleven is the responsibility of the coach and captain۔
Journalist’s Question

There is a concern that simply accepting responsibility does not resolve everything. The whole world — millions of cricket fans — saw what happened, and there are 16 to 18 cameras installed at the ground.

We have never seen Babar Azam or Fakhar Zaman appear unfit in any match. Nor have there been reports after any match or practice session suggesting that they were unfit.

However, fitness certificates were later issued regarding them. As you mentioned earlier, the matter is now being reviewed.

At the same time, the National T20 tournament is currently taking place in Peshawar. How many members of the selection committee are present there? Or are players being selected just by watching them on television?

Aaqib Javed replied:

“Look, your first question was about who takes responsibility for this. There are selectors who select the team, as I explained earlier.

Is this your flight? If you need to leave now, you can ask Misbah-ul-Haq your question.”
 
It is a bizarre PC and some facts are mixed in with fiction. Feels like Hesson is about to get fired.
 
They are still chest thumping on series win in AUS & SA, but what did they do to that team , captain sacked .

Aaqib contradicting himself
 
They are trying to deflect the stupid decision to even take Babar in the first place by saying “he was injured and we didn’t know about it”.

Kisko paagal bana rahe hain??

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Babar Azam spells danger and problem for all managements, coaches, Selection committees etc. especially in white ball cricket.

Everything would be a lot more plain and simpler in operation if there was no Babar Azam. This cycle of b.s will continue as long as he’s an active cricketer available for Pakistan’s white ball sides. He isn’t going to improve with age, and cricket will continue to advance posing serious questions to all those that are responsible of playing him or fitting him in.
 
They are trying to deflect the stupid decision to even take Babar in the first place by saying “he was injured and we didn’t know about it”.

Kisko paagal bana rahe hain??

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Babar Azam spells danger and problem for all managements, coaches, Selection committees etc. especially in white ball cricket.

Everything would be a lot more plain and simpler in operation if there was no Babar Azam. This cycle of b.s will continue as long as he’s an active cricketer available for Pakistan’s white ball sides. He isn’t going to improve with age, and cricket will continue to advance posing serious questions to all those that are responsible of playing him or fitting him in.
Babar Did Nt play game against Lanka. Why did we fail to score 240 when our openers Scored 175 in 15? As much i dislike Babar , Making him sole reason for all Failure is complete dishonesy. We have filled our team with bits and pcs PR cricketers like Saim , Shadab and Nawaz. Farhan was our top scorer and our next best had difference of 250 Runs. Most in Any team. As much Cricket has evolved , The Basics remains same. Need genuine Batsmen in top 6 including WK.

Aqib is a clown who dismissed 4 straighr defeats as norm because our Record is 8-0 in previous Era. Same defeatist Menatlity that Shadab Echoed during tournamemt. Naqvi is bigger clown who is Running cricket board into ground
 
Fakhar zaman is carrying fitness issues. One of the reasons why he never got captaincy i believe.

I heard he is carrying some illness which affects his fitness and was near retirement aswell.

Babar azam fitness issue is probably a lie.
 
I think they don't want Babar and Fakhar to play National T20 Cup. These two are Pakistan's premium batters like Shaheen is the premium bowler.

Playing them in National T20, right before the PSL, reduces value of the PSL which is a premium league.
 
Oh, is this like very serious? I thought the issue was with muscles.

But this means he will have to retire soon?
He mentioned this before CT25.

"I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which led to a weight loss of 10 kg and weakened my muscles. This was the only reason I was out of the team, there was nothing else." - Fakhar

Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, is a condition where the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland in the neck produces excessive amounts of hormones (T3 and T4), speeding up the body's metabolism. This results in symptoms like rapid heartbeat, unexplained weight loss, anxiety, tremors, and heat sensitivity.
 
Jokers ... lack balls when it comes to making tough decisions.

I would give them a simple template, your next T20 world cup is Oct/Nov 28; sit down and decide who is not gonna be there? Fakhar? get rid of him.

Who is not up to it? Babar? Get rid of him.

What do you have in bucket loads? Openers? Keep 3.

Where do you struggle? Middle order batters? Find em, nurture em, keep em.

Have understudy to Usman, even though he is crap.

Afridi? Find a way or get rid.

Faheem Ashraf? Is the best you have in a seaming all rounder?

One or 2 more spinning all rounders? Only have M Nawaz at the moment.

Basically, 1500 openers vying for 3 positions but nothing much else.
 
Oh, is this like very serious? I thought the issue was with muscles.

But this means he will have to retire soon?
There's medication for it to get his thyroid hormones back to normal range. Hopefully once stabilised he won't experience symptoms. Not a career ender.
 
Couldn't have asked these questions from Mike Hesson directly? Had to do a press-conference and level accusations at your own colleagues? Even if he was unfit, that doesn't mean that the team management forced him to play. Alot of times it is the player's decision. A really weird, bipolar press-conference, the point of which I don't fully understand.

The expectation that Pakistan should have made the semi-finals is completely unfounded. Not sure what makes him think that. Pakistan performed as per expectation and lost all matches to better teams.
 
Absolutely random and confusing PC. The argument that losses against India don’t count because better Pakistani teams could never beat India made little sense. Also belittled Bumrah for no reason.
 
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