LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam landed in Lahore from Dubai in the wee hours of Monday after a dismal performance at the ICC World Cup 2023.
Babar Azam along with some members of the PCB including the team manager reached Lahore from Dubai by a private airline.
The captain of the national team was escorted to his car under strict security. The fans who gathered at the airport chanted slogans in favour of the Pakistan team.
Masses present at the airport raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans after seeing the skipper and took selfies with him.
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan side was knocked out of the ICC World Cup 2023 amid their final group stage clash against defending champions England on Saturday.
Watch ICC World Cup 2023 Live on ARY ZAP
Pakistan needed to win their last fixture by a hefty margin of 287 runs or 260 balls to spare to go past New Zealand’s superior net run-rate, who consequently managed to hold on to their fourth spot in the standings.
Pakistan, while chasing a daunting 338-run target, could get to 30/2 in 6.4 overs, resulting in them bowing out of the semi-final race.
The Green Shirts’ campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023 was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.
Babar Azam’s men started their World Cup campaign with two victories.
They outclassed the Netherlands by 81 runs in their campaign opener before they pulled off the highest run chase in the history of the ODI World Cup to down Sri Lanka by six wickets.
However, it was a sudden change of fortune for the men in green as they succumbed to a four-match losing streak, their first in the history of the World Cup.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Their four-match losing streak saw them sink to their first-ever loss against Afghanistan in ODIs before losing to South Africa for the first time in a World Cup match in this century.
When it appeared to be done and dusted for the Green Shirts, Babar Azam’s men scripted an astonishing comeback to the ICC World Cup 2023 semi-final race by thrashing Bangladesh by seven wickets and 105 balls to spare.
Pakistan then pulled off another heist when they downed New Zealand by 21 runs as per the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method despite the latter side scoring a mammoth 401/6 in the allotted 50 overs.
READ: Sri Lanka cricket skipper pleads for ICC suspension to end