Babar Azam continues to remain under the scanner after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-final of the ODI World Cup. Pakistan lost five league stage matches in the tournament and finished on the fifth spot on the points table in the league stage. The Pakistan captain is facing scrutiny for his underwhelming captaincy as he made some questionable choices while picking the playing XI and during the match too regarding bowling changes.
Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja is one of the few players who came in support of Babar and he suggested on his YouTube channel that it’s the system which needs to get changed and both the skipper.
However, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has lambasted Raja’s comments as he slammed Babar’s captaincy and pointed out that the system has always been the same but captains like Imran Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed won the ICC trophies.
“Captaincy does matter. What is the system? It is not a wall. Five and six people have been given responsibility to run the Pakistan cricket. A captain is also one of them. In 1992 under Imran Khan, we won the World Cup, the system was same. In 1999 our team was a world-beater, who reached the finals. We won the 2009 T20 World Cup with the same system, we won the 2017 Champions Trophy under the same system,” said Amir on a show ‘Haarana Mana Hay’ on Geo news.
Amir didn’t mince his words while lashing out at Babar’s captaincy and said he built his team in the four years and failed miserably as it’s unfair to blame the system only. He also gave the example of England cricket which flourished under Eoin Morgan in white-ball cricket and Ben Stokes in Test format.
“Babar is captain for past four years. He has build his team on his own. Buttler is not part of our system, then why did England played so badly? Does the system in England also need a makeover? After 2015 debacle, Morgan said I want to play this brand of cricket, I want these 25 players. System remained the same, it is the captain, who changed his mindset. England were struggling in Test cricket for two years. Joe Root was the captain. System is same but we say England’s Test cricket has changed. It was Ben Stokes, who changed his approach.
“As long as captain’s mindset will not change, system can do nothing. Was it the system, who told him not to play Abrar Ahmad, or bench Fakhar after first match,” Amir added.
The veteran paceman also suggested that Mahendra Singh Dhoni managed to change the Indian cricket but he never changed the system and he groomed some world beaters under his captaincy.
“We say Dhoni changed India’s cricket, but he never changed the system. People kept saying that for how long will he keep giving Jadeja and Ashwin chances. And now we say Jadeja is World’s best all-rounder. MS Dhoni has given them the team,” said Amir.
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