Pakistan captain Babar Azam broke silence on his future in the leadership role after his side’s early exit from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The Green Shirts were knocked out of the group stage of the marquee event for the first time due to embarrassing losses against the United States of America (USA) and India.
They defeated Canada to maintain their Super 8s hopes, but the crucial match between the USA and Ireland was rained out, leading to the USA’s qualification for the next round.
Babar Azam’s side then registered a consolation victory over Ireland in their last match, with the star batter leading the run-chase with an unbeaten 32 off 34 deliveries.
During the post-match press conference, Azam opened up on his decision to reaccept captaincy after leaving the post after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
“When I gave up the captaincy [in 2023], I thought that I shouldn’t be doing it now, that’s why I left it and I announced it myself,” Babar Azam said. “Then when they gave it back to me, it was the decision of the PCB.”
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The right-hander then addressed the speculations about him leaving captaincy, stating that he is currently not thinking about it.
“When I go back, we will discuss all that has happened here. And if I have to leave the captaincy, I will announce it openly. I will not hide behind anything. Whatever happens will happen in the open. But for now, I have not thought about it. It is eventually PCB’s decision,” he added.
While answering a question about Pakistan’s early exit from the tournament, the captain stated that the team did not perform well collectively, and no single person can be blamed for the defeat.
“I told you that we did not lose this because of one particular person. We win and lose as a team. You are pointing out that [I am] the captain, but I cannot play in every player’s place,” he asserted.
“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 have not been able to play well as a team. We have to settle down and accept that we didn’t play well as a team,” he further added.
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