Babar Azam opens up on ‘painful’ defeat against Afghanistan in World Cup

Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam broke the silence on the upset defeat against Afghanistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The star batter appeared in Peshawar Zalmi’s podcast and discussed a wide array of topics from his cricketing journey.

He was also asked about Pakistan’s most shocking defeat in last year’s mega event which drew massive criticism from cricket pundits and fans.

“That match was very painful for me because losing to Afghanistan in a World Cup was a different kind of thing.

“I think they played very good cricket and we could not execute the way we should. We made efforts and we posted a good total but the way they both [Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah] played, it seemed they would not get out on that pitch. The credit should be given to them as well.

“So, that day was a hard day for me. I couldn’t sleep that day. It [defeat] hit me hard in the heart.”

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Babar Azam then went on to share how he overcame the setback, stating it takes time but experience helps a person to handle such situations.

“Look, it takes some time to overcome, a day or two. If you do well, you don’t sleep with excitement leave aside failures.

“The more you play, the more you get experienced, you get to know how to handle yourself.”

For the unversed, Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the ICC World Cup 2023.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah scored sensible half-centuries after Noor Ahmad’s 3/49 led Afghanistan to upset Pakistan.

The eight-wicket victory marked Afghanistan’s first over Pakistan in ODIs. The two sides had come face to face on seven occasions in the 50-over format.

READ: Babar Azam responds to criticism over his strike rate