KARACHI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has dispelled the impression of a rift between the players of the national team, saying, ‘The unity of the team is intact and there are no differences in the team at all.’
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq posted a tweet on Sunday, believed to be an indirect way of venting out his anger for being benched in the fourth and fifth ODI of the recently concluded PAK vs NZ ODI series.
“Life is an unexpected journey so never expect anything from anyone”. Be patient, Allah is watching,” he wrote.
“Life is an unexpected journey so never expect anything from anyone”. Be patient, Allah is watching❗️
— Imam Ul Haq (@ImamUlHaq12) May 7, 2023
When Babar was asked about Imam’s cryptic tweet during the post-match press conference on Sunday, he replied he had not seen the tweet and would see it later.
“No one gets angry in this team. The unity of our team is phenomenal and it will remain like this,” he added.
“And when something like this happens we try to keep to ourselves because the trust level between us is quite good.”
The 28-year-also also shrugged off the reports that Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to retain him as the captain till the ODI World Cup later this year, saying, he had not been informed.
“I am not aware if the board has made that decision. There hasn’t been any communication with me in this regard.”
However, while commenting on Pakistan’s possible squad for the mega event, Babar said he and the management had 15 to 20 players in mind whose names would only be revealed before the World Cup.
“Every match before the World Cup is important for us and we are trying to utilize it,” he said.
Elaborating on the team’s performance in the recently concluded five-game ODI series against New Zealand, the Pakistan captain said, “There were many positives and we were able to check on our bench strength in the series”
“We tried to clean sweep the Black Caps but the way we planned, we couldn’t finish it that way.”
“We planned to finish the series on a better note; however, early wickets led to our defeat,” he lamented.
Tom Latham-led New Zealand took a 47-run consolation win in the final ODI at National Bank Cricket Arena on Sunday to deny Pakistan a 5-0 clean sweep in the series.
The defeat dethroned Pakistan from the No.1 spot in the ODI rankings which they achieved for the first time in history following their dominant win in the fourth ODI on Friday.
READ: PAK vs NZ: New Zealand team leaves after concluding Pakistan tour