"Its crucial we dont judge the team based on one bad series against New Zealand" : Babar Azam

[MenInG]

"Its crucial we dont judge the team based on one bad series against New Zealand" : Babar Azam

Lahore: Pakistan captain Babar Azam thinks that there should not be many changes in the upcoming series against South Africa.

The 26-year-old Babar has backed his troops and is confident that his team will perform better in the Test and T20I series against Proteas, scheduled to start from January 26.

“The side is excited for the series against South Africa. South Africa is a quality side and it will be a very important series for us. We will go positive against South Africa,” Babar said while talking to reporters in Lahore on Tuesday.

“It is crucial to back the team during difficult times and not judge on the basis of one bad series. To build a team, players need to be given consistent opportunities,” he added.

Babar expressed disappointment in missing the matches against New Zealand due to an injury on his right thumb.

“It was painful for me not to play against New Zealand as the team needed me badly, however, I have been practicing for two days now after completely recovering from the injury. I’ll be in action against South Africa,” he revealed.

Meanwhile, Babar also opined regarding Mohammad Amir’s retirement from international cricket and shared the reason why he was dropped from the team.

“Amir’s performance was not the same as before. Now if his performance improves, selectors will definitely consider his return and talk to him,” he concluded.

https://arysports.tv/babar-not-favor-making-major-changes-south-africa-series/

 

[ataullah]

One bad series? They've been mediocre club level year after year. Will our torture ever end? I've been watching this lot almost 30 yrs and they always disappointed at every level 99% of the time

 

[RyanRyan10]

W/L ratio post MisYou

New Zealand 3.2
India 1.9
Australia 1.7
England 1.437
South Africa 1
Afghanistan 1 (have played 4 tests)
Sri Lanka 0.733
West Indies 0.562
Pakistan 0.461
Bangladesh 0.387
Zimbabwe 0.166
Ireland 0


Just one bad series lol?

 

[Rana]

When is the squad for South Africa being announced?

 

[zacattakk]

Dont worry Babar, we are not judging the team based on one bad series against NZ.

We are judging the team based on multiple bad series against NZ, England, Australia, and Sri Lanka C.

 

[zacattakk]

When is the squad for South Africa being announced?

Wasim Khan had recently said in a press conference that it would be this Thursday or Friday.

 

[saeed5646]

W/L ratio post MisYou

New Zealand 3.2
India 1.9
Australia 1.7
England 1.437
South Africa 1
Afghanistan 1 (have played 4 tests)
Sri Lanka 0.733
West Indies 0.562
Pakistan 0.461
Bangladesh 0.387
Zimbabwe 0.166
Ireland 0


Just one bad series lol?

misyou last test ended on 14 may 2017

 

[TeymurBlake]

Not good comments from Babar. The team has been bad for some time. Even with the way the team plays. Slow, lacklustre and lack of desire. This is what people are judging the team on. Not just results.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Pakistan have been abysmal on Aus and NZ tours, the Eng tour wasnt that great either.

 

[Markhor]

If Babar thinks we don't have any problems as a Test side and isn't willing to take tough decisions then his captaincy will be little different to Azhar or Sarfraz.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

I think he's just saying this to not belittle his team in front of camera.
I've seen this happen a lot in sports interviews.

 

[angrypathan]

Since Pakistan's victory at Lords in 2018, we've been blanked 3-0 in South Africa, 2-0 in Australia, and now 2-0 in New Zealand. Hardly one bad series.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Now that babar's the full time captain of all sides, people have started to put the blame on him already about everything. Even Amir's retirement will soon find a way with Babar playing a part in as well.

How quickly our fans turn their backs on our players.

 

[MenInG]

If Babar thinks we don't have any problems as a Test side and isn't willing to take tough decisions then his captaincy will be little different to Azhar or Sarfraz.

Towing the company line.

 

[Varun]

If Babar thinks we don't have any problems as a Test side and isn't willing to take tough decisions then his captaincy will be little different to Azhar or Sarfraz.

Calling it right now - he's going to be a vanilla captain and it's going to drag his batting down just like Joe Root.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

I am a Babar Azam fan, but not a blind one

This is an absolute disgrace of a statement

More like
“one embarrassing T20I series against SL in 2019”
“one bad T20I series against AUS in 2019”
“one embarrassing Test series against AUS in 2020”
“one bad Test series against ENG in 2020”
“one bad T20I series against ENG in 2020”
“one embarrassing ODI series against ZIM in 2020”
“one bad T20I series against NZ in 2020”
“one embarrassing and a disgraceful Test series against NZ in 2021"

 

[arunpsm]

I dont agree with many posters here about Babar's alleged soft captaincy.

Just let him have 1 or 2 successful (even personally) series against top teams, then his stature will rise and he will gain due respect as captain and he will start being assertive

 

[Markhor]

Calling it right now - he's going to be a vanilla captain and it's going to drag his batting down just like Joe Root.

There's a story Mickey told in a random interview recently.

He was trying to get the youngsters to be more vocal in the group and not to be afraid to challenge the seniors. He told Babar that if Mohammad Hafeez ran him out, he shouldn't be afraid of having a go at him back in the dressing room.

The reply from Babar was "no no I can't do that, he's my senior."

When I heard that, I thought oh god here we go again...

 

[MMHS]

What else he could have said - if he speaks his mind, PAK media & former cricketers (& PP) will mutilate him into pieces and Corpse will be fed to vultures for not showing guts & being scared. He is the only quality player in this team who can held his head high, but he has to keep the “boost” intact for his employers.

I don’t blame him - he knows very well what’s PAK’s results had been, but being captain he is bound to read out PCB’s script. He might resign sometimes later if this continues, but in early years, he has to follow instructions & keep media (& fans) happy with bullish words.

In any case, his captaincy won’t be much better than Azhar’s, because the bottom line hasn’t changed - the quality of players actually has gone down.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

You can keep giving these statements

But the day is not very far when you’d no more be invited by the top teams.

Already you don’t play India
AUS, SA and NZ invite you for a 2 match once in 4 years to practice and to boost the stats and to test the bench strength

Good somehow Eng is inviting you almost every year.

The day is not very far when you’d be circled with Bang, Zim and Afg, if you’re not already

PCB, Management and players are in delusion and riding on their performance from 2 decades back

 

[TeamPak95]

There's a story Mickey told in a random interview recently.

He was trying to get the youngsters to be more vocal in the group and not to be afraid to challenge the seniors. He told Babar that if Mohammad Hafeez ran him out, he shouldn't be afraid of having a go at him back in the dressing room.

The reply from Babar was "no no I can't do that, he's my senior."

When I heard that, I thought oh god here we go again...

That's fine and all but what I question is that, in this hypothetical Hafeez-Babar scenario, how much is Hafeez, the senior-man, owning up here? Is he saying stuff like "my bad" or "my fault Babar"? If he is, I'm ok with that as, at the very least, it lets Babar know that Hafeez isn't abusing his seniority here.

As far as Mickey telling youngsters to not be afraid and challenge seniors more, it's a challenge for the youngsters to implement this sort of mindset (it's a cultural thing). Not that I don't agree with Mickey here but the youngsters need to be taught how to challenge seniors as opposed to just blatantly act all macho. The way I see it, and it may sound obvious, but major emphasis needs to be put on team success rather than age/seniority hierarchy. Yes, treat your older brothers with respect but not to the point where that respect compromises team success (or team combos/selections for that matter). And if you, the youngster, have something to say, say it but with a mature mindset and not a Gordon Ramsey-like one.

 

[Saj]

But it's not a one-off, or one bad series.

Time and again we are seeing very poor planning and performances especially from the Pakistan Test side.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

No, we are not judging the team. We are judging the two pink elephants. Misbah and Waqar.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Fact of the matter is, Babar is not a natural leader. But there aren't many in the current dressing room who are.

This is why it's important that all PSL captains be Pakistani (And young) and all domestic captains be younger players as well. Whilst some are natural leaders, others have leadership forged through experience.

That's why I'm looking forward to seeing how Shadab does in his 2nd year at ISLU. Hassan Ali at Central Punjab was also a breath of fresh air and it's good to see Saud captain Sindh in the Pakistan Cup. I hope that he retains the captaincy even after Safraz comes back.

Would like to see Kamran Ghulam given captaincy duties at KPK as well.

 

[Shams123]

Great statement from Babar Azam. A leader never shows doubt or lack of trust on his team openly even if he really thinks differently in reality. You always project confidence.

 

[Napa]

What else he could have said - if he speaks his mind, PAK media & former cricketers (& PP) will mutilate him into pieces and Corpse will be fed to vultures for not showing guts & being scared. He is the only quality player in this team who can held his head high, but he has to keep the “boost” intact for his employers.

I don’t blame him - he knows very well what’s PAK’s results had been, but being captain he is bound to read out PCB’s script. He might resign sometimes later if this continues, but in early years, he has to follow instructions & keep media (& fans) happy with bullish words.

In any case, his captaincy won’t be much better than Azhar’s, because the bottom line hasn’t changed - the quality of players actually has gone down.

I think he's just saying this to not belittle his team in front of camera.
I've seen this happen a lot in sports interviews.

He doesn't have to say anything bad about his team. But instead of this he could have said stuff like "we are not happy with the results we have had, and are going to work and fight hard to become better", and then follow up by actually doing so.

 

[QalandarFan]

Oh yeah it's just one bad series we been dominating for years prior to that series, well said Babar let em know!

 

[Greenstorm]

Babar should just resign. He isn't made for captaincy.

 

[Bigboii]

Calling it right now - he's going to be a vanilla captain and it's going to drag his batting down just like Joe Root.

Honestly in thier hearts of hearts

Most Pak fans know that...
Out of respect for his Individual brilliance fans are staying silent

 

[Hasan123]

You can't really expect him to slag the players and coaching staff.

 

[Smudger]

I think Babar is not as soft as most people think. He showed his anger towards Asif ali and Haris Rauf for lacking match awareness. And his celebrations on reaching his 100 in Australia just showed he is not afraid to show emotions.
With a passage of time Babar might become the most influential person in Pakistan Cricket similar to what Kohli is in India

 

[UzmanBeast]

You can't judge someone's captaincy based on their media statements. It makes no sense.

First of all, Mohammad Wasim is the Chief Selector, so it depends more on him than Babar. If Wasim drops Shan Masood, Babar cannot do anything to bring him into the team. So understand that part first.

Secondly, he said that there wouldn't be overly unnecessary changes, but he never said that they were going in unchanged.

From my guess, he's gonna give Abid and Haris another chance.

I would personally prefer having Yasir + Zafar combination against South Africa.

Hasan Ali is probably making a comeback from what I'm thinking.

My prediction is that Babar will go in with:

Abid Ali
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan
Zafar Gohar
Yasir Shah
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Naseem Shah

So basically two changes.

I don't like the idea of Babar batting at 3, he's not developed enough to face the new ball to that extent. Plus, he chases balls much too often that I'd like to see from a no.3 batsman.

Mohammad Wasim needs to bring in a domestic opener, and Imran Butt is a decent option. That way, Haris will have to be dropped, and we might see a new player into the team.

 

[MMHS]

He doesn't have to say anything bad about his team. But instead of this he could have said stuff like "we are not happy with the results we have had, and are going to work and fight hard to become better", and then follow up by actually doing so.

That would be standard & acceptable response for a team that’s roaming around 6-7th spot in ICC ranking and struggling to take 10 wickets in many of the Tests - not for Babar, who has to address a board, media, critics & fan base with self proclaimed prophecy of talent & entitlement.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I feel bad for Bobby. Everybody will come down on him like a ton of bricks if the team performs badly when in reality his hands are clearly tied. Doubt he would say a word against Misbah or Waqar.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

I'll give Babar benefit of doubt and consider that he's only talking about his captaincy tenure and even then New Zealand was not his fault, not that it could have been any different.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

I feel bad for Bobby. Everybody will come down on him like a ton of bricks if the team performs badly when in reality his hands are clearly tied. Doubt he would say a word against Misbah or Waqar.

Captaining a team like Pakistan is extremely risky. Only few survived. Malik, Butt, Yousuf, Sarfraz.... only Misbah and Afridi barely managed to survive

 

[Babbar]

The right comparison for Babar is not Kohli but Tendulkar, though Babar still has to prove himself. Both are soft spoken, focused on job at hand, and not much in team politics.

Unfortunately, though Tendulkar was made test team captain out of respect for him, but was a massive failure. Luckily Tendulkar’s advisors (Shastri included) and he himself were self-aware enough so he resigned from captaincy and focused on his legendary batting.

Pak should look for another captain.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He doesn't have to say anything bad about his team. But instead of this he could have said stuff like "we are not happy with the results we have had, and are going to work and fight hard to become better", and then follow up by actually doing so.

Agree. He doesn't have to throw anyone under the bus, he could easily have said this team threw away promising positions against NZ but he has full confidence they will learn from the experience and be better prepared for South Africa. Just a poor choice of words.

 

[JaDed]

I think Babar will grow , he has shown that with his batting as well .

Babar’s talent with Hafeez’s dominating attitude would had been better..

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Fact of the matter is, Babar is not a natural leader. But there aren't many in the current dressing room who are.

This is why it's important that all PSL captains be Pakistani (And young) and all domestic captains be younger players as well. Whilst some are natural leaders, others have leadership forged through experience.

That's why I'm looking forward to seeing how Shadab does in his 2nd year at ISLU. Hassan Ali at Central Punjab was also a breath of fresh air and it's good to see Saud captain Sindh in the Pakistan Cup. I hope that he retains the captaincy even after Safraz comes back.

Would like to see Kamran Ghulam given captaincy duties at KPK as well.

Don’t forget Rizwan. His captaincy of Pakistan A and KPK is one of the major reasons he looked so assured behind the stumps in New Zealand and also raised his game with the bat.

Rohail Nazir is someone else who is being groomed - first U19 and now Shaheens duties. He’s confident, has begun to learn to speak to the media, and you can see how he’s raised his game with a 100 in the four day against NZ A and worked hard on his T20 game too.

Saim Ayub and Huraira have both been given age group captaincy of their regional U19 teams, Sindh and Central Punjab.

Haider Ali is vice captain of the Shaheens. I expect him to become captain of Peshawar Zalmi in 3 years, just a hunch. He’s the only young player retained in the 5 man core, and still one of the youngest amongst the guaranteed starters in this year’s PSL. In about 3 years, once Wahab retires, I feel Haider is next up to take over.

I think we’re doing a slightly better job of promoting youngsters in leadership roles these days. It’s just Babar who can’t get a role anywhere for the life of him.