- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,135
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain) post-match Press Conference - 16th June 2024
[Reporter:]
First of all, congratulations that you’ll finished the tournament on a winning note – but the question is that the situation of Pakistan Cricket Team – for any sport, the graph of any team keeps going up and down, that is not such a big deal, but for Pakistan team – it’s a very disappointing situation – what level do you see it at, the overall performance.
Secondly – you were made the captain, then it was taken back and then you were made the captain again. In this situation, after this performance, will you keep this captaincy or will you be at the behest of the board – that if they give you captaincy you will do it otherwise you will step down yourself.
[Babar Azam:]
As much as you'll are disappointed – we are more disappointed. We were not able to perform as our players. I think we did not play well as a team. It's not that we lost because of one person or he did this or that. As a team we lost. As a team we were not able to click. Sometimes we did well in bowling and we did not do well in batting. The pitches here – you saw that they helped the fast bowlers a little. But I think our batting did not click.
When the games were in our hands – we lost wickets because of which we lost two crucial matches. We were going ahead and the pressure was on the other team. But when you lose back-to-back wickets, you know the pressure builds. There are some dot balls where you have to build partnership. When the pressure builds, you take chances. Today, you saw that we were going easily, but then the back-to-back wickets fell. There was a little pressure and we took the game deep.
Secondly – about the captaincy – when I had left it, I thought that I shouldn’t be doing it now, that’s why I left it and I announced it myself.
Then when they gave it back to me, it was the decision of the PCB. When I go back, we will discuss all the things that happened here. And if I have to leave the captaincy, this decision, I will tell you openly. I will not announce anything behind the scenes. Whatever happens, will happen in front of you. But for now, I have not thought about it. The decision is of the PCB.
[Reporter:]
We did not perform well overall, that is why Pakistan is going home. But our batting has disappointed us a lot. Our batters are giving their wickets instead of giving them a good ball. So, did you understand why our batters are performing so badly?
[Babar Azam:]
See, until you stay on the wicket, don't build partnership, if you play more dot balls, you'll keep getting pressure. See, people will say this is an excuse, we have to take turns and build innings, build partnership. We did not have a wicket in hand and we were expecting the tail end to give us a big total. But the first 6 overs were crucial. In that, the more wicket we have the better – later on we had to execute. We missed that. We lost wickets in the first 6 overs and then in middle overs. I think you can say that we have given wickets in patches this way.
[Reporter:]
We are hearing that there is a lot of pressure on your captaincy. We are getting news from Lahore and sources are saying that there is a lot of pressure on you, after the World Cup we will have an inquiry on what performance you had overall. Do you think as a captain you take the responsibility of losing this tournament? If you are forced to leave the captaincy, will you leave it?
[Babar Azam:]
Sir, as I have said earlier, everyone is sad. As a team, we did not play. I told you that we did not lose this because of one person. We are losing as a team. I am not saying this because of one person. You are pointing out that because of the captain, I cannot play in every player's place. There are 11 players and each of them has a role. That's why they came here to play the World Cup. I think we as a team have not been able to apply, follow and finish things. We have to settle down and accept that we didn't play well as a team.
[Report:]
Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir both came back from retirement for this tournament. And obviously there were ups and downs in the tournaments for everyone. But in today's match, Imad was 3 for 8, Amir was 2 for 11. So, you summarize, what do you think about their contribution? Today, the tournament is in their careers, because we don't know about the future. They have retired, don't know what will happen in the future. But in this tournament, give your assessment.
[Babar Azam:]
The contribution which they made was very good. Especially in spin bowling. Imad Wasim made a very good contribution. You can see it in the last matches and also in todays match. He used to give us the wickets we needed in the middle. We have bowled with new balls and old balls as well. It's their experience. They know how to bowl and execute the plan. I think today, in this tournament, bowling did a very good job. Bowling dominated. We lost in one match, but apart from that, we stuck the other teams to less than 130 runs. In the first match we chased 160, but I think the bowlers bowled very well. And when you have experience as a cricketer, you know how to bowl and how to take a wicket in difficult times.
[Reporter:]
The Pakistan team's performance is not good and there is criticism. When you do well, you are appreciated. When you don't do well, you should accept it. You are considered the king of Pakistan. But you admit that you are not in the knockout stage of three tournaments – the Asian Cup, World Cup and T20. The selection committee, captains and players are responsible for this failure. And the chairman is saying that this cricket board needs surgery. You have been the captain of the team for 5 years. Do you think that we need surgery? What mistakes are we making?
[Babar Azam:]
As you said earlier, we have played the Asia Cup final, the World Cup final, and the semi-final as well. But we were not able to finish. But we should also see that we have achieved those things. Unfortunately, we didn't achieve it this time. We didn't qualify. We accept it as a team. We are not saying that we don't accept it. I as a captain and as a team accept that we didn't play the same cricket. We couldn't perform the same way. The expectations that we had made of the team, the way our senior players were, we didn't execute. We couldn't deliver at different times. So, we accept that as a player and as a captain, I don't want to blame anyone. I don't want to point out that it's their fault. It's the fault of all the 15 players. We could not play like that. I am sad about it. We will sit and talk about it.
And second - We will go and sit and discuss with them. I will give my feedback – that is my responsibility as a captain to him and will see what will happen.
[Reporter:]
Yesterday Imad said that Pakistan cricket needs to decide how it wants to play. The biggest change should be in the mindset because they are playing with fear of failure. What do you think is the reason behind this? Is it the lack of consistency in selection? Or is it the emotional reaction of the public? Or why do they have fear of failure?
[Babar Azam:]
As far as you have given, the selection and I think 8-9 players are the same who have been playing for 4 years. They should not fear. All of them are the same players. They are being backed. They are being given opportunities. But as a player, you have to step up a little. Look- the mindset – the mindset should be how you want to play. Now you can't hit every ball, you can't hit a six on every ball, you can't even get a wicket on every ball. You need to assess the conditions, what's the demand here. If you follow that then - tell me how many matches have been played here and there's been outstanding batting? There's been a struggle, but you need to be proactive about what's required here. You need partnership, you need to bowl at good hard length. It's not that you follow a mindset. We have to think out of the box. Every player has to think. It's not that one person has to do it. Every player has to think because cricket has become very fast. With modern cricket -- You must have game awareness. You know that you have to take it deep here, you have to take a bit of weight. You know that the strike rate here is not like that – no matter how much you do, when the wicket is not in hand, you get pressure. You try to build the innings. I think it's about game awareness and common sense. What is required here.
[Reporter:]
When you played against Ireland in Dublin last month, you didn't do as well restricting their batting as you did today. What changed? Was it plans, tactics, conditions or was the performance just better?
[Babar Azam:]
I think the first six overs we are ahead we are taking two three wickets so pressure on Ireland, we are hitting Ball on the good areas, so if you take for six you take for a few wickets in first six over Then you have a pressure on other team.
[Reporter:]
You have played so much T20 cricket, for Pakistan, you play PSL also. Normally it’s a batsman dominated game but it has been completely different this tournament. What do you think, as a batsman should there be such wickets or not? Because like it happened here, the game was being beaten. Here, you all had to take a tough test. As a batsman, what do you think about these wickets?
[Babar Azam:]
Thank God you asked this question. I was expecting someone to ask this question. As far as pitches are concerned, there were no such pitches. In New York, you saw that the game was played on toss. I think the timing was a little too early. Because when you give a toss, every second team has bowled. And the bowler gets help. And here you don't have the idea of bounce because there is no consistent bounce. Sometimes the ball goes too high, sometimes it comes down. So as a batsman, you have to take a little bit of time and build your innings. You have to expect the same in the first six overs. Like you said, 80 runs, 70 runs, we are also waiting. Because here, the maximum score is 50 in two matches. The rest were under 40-35. I think we should have got better pitches.
And secondly, the weather was bad. I think the curator working very hard today and tried to get the match done, but it rained the day before. I think it was their effort that got the match done. We were expecting the outfield to be wet. I think the pitches should have been better. This tournament is supporting the bowlers. The friendly wicket should have been better.
[Reporter:]
Even though you all didn't make it to the next round, what are those emotions like for you, knowing that you all still have that heavy support?
[Babar Azam:]
When we are going everywhere, the support is still with us. I know our fan is a bit upset because we are not playing good cricket, but I think the way fans support us in all tournament thank you so much for support us, but sorry for that performance because we are not qualified and everyone expect that we are play good cricket.
[Reporter:]
Overall, in the areas where Pakistan team has lagged, play good cricket. As a captain, who do you think is responsible for the lack of players in your team? What do you think, who is responsible for this?
[Babar Azam:]
I can't say that it's the responsibility of the selection committee. I know the fans and the team are saddened by this. I am saying that it is not anyone's fault. We all made a mistake. We did not play well as a team but we couldn’t deliver.
We did well in patches, but we struggles in the middle orders. We all are disappointed, as much as all the fans are hurt, but still, I wouldn’t say it is the fault of any one person.
[Reporter:]
First of all, congratulations that you’ll finished the tournament on a winning note – but the question is that the situation of Pakistan Cricket Team – for any sport, the graph of any team keeps going up and down, that is not such a big deal, but for Pakistan team – it’s a very disappointing situation – what level do you see it at, the overall performance.
Secondly – you were made the captain, then it was taken back and then you were made the captain again. In this situation, after this performance, will you keep this captaincy or will you be at the behest of the board – that if they give you captaincy you will do it otherwise you will step down yourself.
[Babar Azam:]
As much as you'll are disappointed – we are more disappointed. We were not able to perform as our players. I think we did not play well as a team. It's not that we lost because of one person or he did this or that. As a team we lost. As a team we were not able to click. Sometimes we did well in bowling and we did not do well in batting. The pitches here – you saw that they helped the fast bowlers a little. But I think our batting did not click.
When the games were in our hands – we lost wickets because of which we lost two crucial matches. We were going ahead and the pressure was on the other team. But when you lose back-to-back wickets, you know the pressure builds. There are some dot balls where you have to build partnership. When the pressure builds, you take chances. Today, you saw that we were going easily, but then the back-to-back wickets fell. There was a little pressure and we took the game deep.
Secondly – about the captaincy – when I had left it, I thought that I shouldn’t be doing it now, that’s why I left it and I announced it myself.
Then when they gave it back to me, it was the decision of the PCB. When I go back, we will discuss all the things that happened here. And if I have to leave the captaincy, this decision, I will tell you openly. I will not announce anything behind the scenes. Whatever happens, will happen in front of you. But for now, I have not thought about it. The decision is of the PCB.
[Reporter:]
We did not perform well overall, that is why Pakistan is going home. But our batting has disappointed us a lot. Our batters are giving their wickets instead of giving them a good ball. So, did you understand why our batters are performing so badly?
[Babar Azam:]
See, until you stay on the wicket, don't build partnership, if you play more dot balls, you'll keep getting pressure. See, people will say this is an excuse, we have to take turns and build innings, build partnership. We did not have a wicket in hand and we were expecting the tail end to give us a big total. But the first 6 overs were crucial. In that, the more wicket we have the better – later on we had to execute. We missed that. We lost wickets in the first 6 overs and then in middle overs. I think you can say that we have given wickets in patches this way.
[Reporter:]
We are hearing that there is a lot of pressure on your captaincy. We are getting news from Lahore and sources are saying that there is a lot of pressure on you, after the World Cup we will have an inquiry on what performance you had overall. Do you think as a captain you take the responsibility of losing this tournament? If you are forced to leave the captaincy, will you leave it?
[Babar Azam:]
Sir, as I have said earlier, everyone is sad. As a team, we did not play. I told you that we did not lose this because of one person. We are losing as a team. I am not saying this because of one person. You are pointing out that because of the captain, I cannot play in every player's place. There are 11 players and each of them has a role. That's why they came here to play the World Cup. I think we as a team have not been able to apply, follow and finish things. We have to settle down and accept that we didn't play well as a team.
[Report:]
Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir both came back from retirement for this tournament. And obviously there were ups and downs in the tournaments for everyone. But in today's match, Imad was 3 for 8, Amir was 2 for 11. So, you summarize, what do you think about their contribution? Today, the tournament is in their careers, because we don't know about the future. They have retired, don't know what will happen in the future. But in this tournament, give your assessment.
[Babar Azam:]
The contribution which they made was very good. Especially in spin bowling. Imad Wasim made a very good contribution. You can see it in the last matches and also in todays match. He used to give us the wickets we needed in the middle. We have bowled with new balls and old balls as well. It's their experience. They know how to bowl and execute the plan. I think today, in this tournament, bowling did a very good job. Bowling dominated. We lost in one match, but apart from that, we stuck the other teams to less than 130 runs. In the first match we chased 160, but I think the bowlers bowled very well. And when you have experience as a cricketer, you know how to bowl and how to take a wicket in difficult times.
[Reporter:]
The Pakistan team's performance is not good and there is criticism. When you do well, you are appreciated. When you don't do well, you should accept it. You are considered the king of Pakistan. But you admit that you are not in the knockout stage of three tournaments – the Asian Cup, World Cup and T20. The selection committee, captains and players are responsible for this failure. And the chairman is saying that this cricket board needs surgery. You have been the captain of the team for 5 years. Do you think that we need surgery? What mistakes are we making?
[Babar Azam:]
As you said earlier, we have played the Asia Cup final, the World Cup final, and the semi-final as well. But we were not able to finish. But we should also see that we have achieved those things. Unfortunately, we didn't achieve it this time. We didn't qualify. We accept it as a team. We are not saying that we don't accept it. I as a captain and as a team accept that we didn't play the same cricket. We couldn't perform the same way. The expectations that we had made of the team, the way our senior players were, we didn't execute. We couldn't deliver at different times. So, we accept that as a player and as a captain, I don't want to blame anyone. I don't want to point out that it's their fault. It's the fault of all the 15 players. We could not play like that. I am sad about it. We will sit and talk about it.
And second - We will go and sit and discuss with them. I will give my feedback – that is my responsibility as a captain to him and will see what will happen.
[Reporter:]
Yesterday Imad said that Pakistan cricket needs to decide how it wants to play. The biggest change should be in the mindset because they are playing with fear of failure. What do you think is the reason behind this? Is it the lack of consistency in selection? Or is it the emotional reaction of the public? Or why do they have fear of failure?
[Babar Azam:]
As far as you have given, the selection and I think 8-9 players are the same who have been playing for 4 years. They should not fear. All of them are the same players. They are being backed. They are being given opportunities. But as a player, you have to step up a little. Look- the mindset – the mindset should be how you want to play. Now you can't hit every ball, you can't hit a six on every ball, you can't even get a wicket on every ball. You need to assess the conditions, what's the demand here. If you follow that then - tell me how many matches have been played here and there's been outstanding batting? There's been a struggle, but you need to be proactive about what's required here. You need partnership, you need to bowl at good hard length. It's not that you follow a mindset. We have to think out of the box. Every player has to think. It's not that one person has to do it. Every player has to think because cricket has become very fast. With modern cricket -- You must have game awareness. You know that you have to take it deep here, you have to take a bit of weight. You know that the strike rate here is not like that – no matter how much you do, when the wicket is not in hand, you get pressure. You try to build the innings. I think it's about game awareness and common sense. What is required here.
[Reporter:]
When you played against Ireland in Dublin last month, you didn't do as well restricting their batting as you did today. What changed? Was it plans, tactics, conditions or was the performance just better?
[Babar Azam:]
I think the first six overs we are ahead we are taking two three wickets so pressure on Ireland, we are hitting Ball on the good areas, so if you take for six you take for a few wickets in first six over Then you have a pressure on other team.
[Reporter:]
You have played so much T20 cricket, for Pakistan, you play PSL also. Normally it’s a batsman dominated game but it has been completely different this tournament. What do you think, as a batsman should there be such wickets or not? Because like it happened here, the game was being beaten. Here, you all had to take a tough test. As a batsman, what do you think about these wickets?
[Babar Azam:]
Thank God you asked this question. I was expecting someone to ask this question. As far as pitches are concerned, there were no such pitches. In New York, you saw that the game was played on toss. I think the timing was a little too early. Because when you give a toss, every second team has bowled. And the bowler gets help. And here you don't have the idea of bounce because there is no consistent bounce. Sometimes the ball goes too high, sometimes it comes down. So as a batsman, you have to take a little bit of time and build your innings. You have to expect the same in the first six overs. Like you said, 80 runs, 70 runs, we are also waiting. Because here, the maximum score is 50 in two matches. The rest were under 40-35. I think we should have got better pitches.
And secondly, the weather was bad. I think the curator working very hard today and tried to get the match done, but it rained the day before. I think it was their effort that got the match done. We were expecting the outfield to be wet. I think the pitches should have been better. This tournament is supporting the bowlers. The friendly wicket should have been better.
[Reporter:]
Even though you all didn't make it to the next round, what are those emotions like for you, knowing that you all still have that heavy support?
[Babar Azam:]
When we are going everywhere, the support is still with us. I know our fan is a bit upset because we are not playing good cricket, but I think the way fans support us in all tournament thank you so much for support us, but sorry for that performance because we are not qualified and everyone expect that we are play good cricket.
[Reporter:]
Overall, in the areas where Pakistan team has lagged, play good cricket. As a captain, who do you think is responsible for the lack of players in your team? What do you think, who is responsible for this?
[Babar Azam:]
I can't say that it's the responsibility of the selection committee. I know the fans and the team are saddened by this. I am saying that it is not anyone's fault. We all made a mistake. We did not play well as a team but we couldn’t deliver.
We did well in patches, but we struggles in the middle orders. We all are disappointed, as much as all the fans are hurt, but still, I wouldn’t say it is the fault of any one person.
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