Under fire Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam continues to face unprecedented heat as Pakistan's hopes of making the World Cup 2023 semi-finals all but perished on Thursday, November 10. New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka in the must-win game to cement their place in the semifinals which led critics to target Babar.
Pakistan remain in fifth place with eight points but need to beat England by 287 runs on Saturday at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. It will take Babar and co to reach the semi-finals as the team faces further criticism ahead of the clash.
Babar has scored 282 runs in eight innings but his poor strike rate of 82.69 has drawn strong criticism from the fans and the former players. Talking in the press ahead of the England game, Babar tried to silence his critics and seemed focused on the upcoming assignment.
"It's very easy to give opinion on TV," Babar said in the pre-match press conference on Friday. "If someone wishes to offer advice, they are welcome to call me directly, my number is known to everyone."
Babar's captaincy has also come under the scanner as Pakistan failed to defend 270-plus totals against Afghanistan and South Africa at Chennai's M Chidambaram Stadium. Former players Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan hinted at Babar's dip in form due to the extra pressure of captaincy. But the current world no.2 ODI batter revealed that he is not feeling captaincy pressure and it is not affecting his performances on the field.
"I have been captaining my team for the last three years and I have never felt this way. It's just because I have not performed the way I should have in the World Cup, that's why people are saying that I am under pressure. I don't think I was under any pressure or felt any different because of this. I try to give my best in the field during the fielding. During batting, I think about how I should make runs and make the team win," Babar added.
