Rohit Sharma-Hardik Pandya MI captaincy saga mentioned as Irfan Pathan exposes Pakistan's off-field turmoil post-T20 WC debacle

Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan opened up about Pakistan's group-stage exit from the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Irfan Pathan highlighted how negative comments from Pakistan players like Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim about captain Babar Azam impacted their campaign in the ICC tournament.

Pakistan's hopes of qualifying for the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup 2024 were dashed when the USA versus Ireland match was washed out in Florida. Pakistan suffered a group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014. The Men in Green have faced criticism from both fans and former cricketers.

Babar Azam's team faced defeats against the USA and India in their first two matches but managed to bounce back with a victory against Canada in their subsequent game. They can achieve a maximum of four points by the end of the group stage. The USA advanced to the Super 8 stage with five points in Group A.

That Was A Professional Decision Made By Mumbai Indians - Irfan Pathan

Speaking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan criticized Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim for their past negative remarks about captain Babar Azam. Pathan cited India's handling of off-field issues and highlighted Hardik Pandya's IPL 2024 captaincy controversy with the Mumbai Indians.

"The way Indian cricket handles turmoil, whatever little we have, Yes, compared to Pakistan, it's nothing. Let me give you an example of what happened before the IPL," Irfan Pathan told Star Sports.

"Mumbai Indians made Hardik Pandya the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. That was a professional decision made by the franchise. But the way things went, there were a lot of things going on in terms of negativity and performances of the Mumbai Indians. But when it comes to Team India, Hardik Pandya has been performing well under Rohit Sharma as captain. And Rohit Sharma is using Hardik really well and not letting what has happened recently affect it," Pathan added.

"But, Pakistan. It doesn't happen. What was happening? Imad Wasim was sitting on the TV and talking nonsense about the captain. Mohammad Amir was talking nonsense on TV and now they are playing together. When those things happen... Shaheen Afridi was captain, now they removed him and they went back to Babar Azam. He said I don't want to be the vice-captain." When those things happen, it reflects on the team," he added.

"Apart from the skill, which is the main issue, how you manage off-the-field dramas. You always have drama, but if you don't have skill as well, it always leads to disaster, which is what happened for the Pakistan team."

Imad and Amir were involved in broadcasting roles for national TV channels during the ODI World Cup 2023. Imad was excluded from the ODI World Cup squad as he chose to retire from international cricket. However, both Imad and Amir later reversed their retirement decisions and returned to play for Pakistan.

Babar Azam resigned as captain across all three formats after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the ODI World Cup in India. Shaheen Afridi took over as Pakistan's T20I captain but was later removed. Afridi led the Pakistan team in only one T20I series in New Zealand, where they suffered a 1-4 defeat.

Pakistan achieved a 2-2 draw against a weakened New Zealand team under Babar Azam's second stint as captain. The Men in Green faced a loss to Ireland in a T20I match. Pakistan also experienced a 2-0 defeat against England in their last bilateral series before the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.

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