"That's not Babar Azam's fault" - Younis Khan reveals real reason behind Pakistan cricket's downfall
Published - 24 Jul 2024, 04:08 PM | Updated - 24 Aug 2024, 06:14 AM
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has blamed Pakistan's poor cricket infrastructure for the team's dismal performance in the T20 World Cup 2024. Younis also argued that Pakistan do not have a backup for out-of-form players and claimed that there is no player to replace Babar Azam as captain.
Babar Azam has been under the scanner for the past few months. Under Babar Azam's captaincy, Pakistan failed to reach the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-finals. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, the Men in Green failed miserably, bowed out of the group stage, and failed to reach the Super 8 stage.
Younis Khan slams Pakistan's infrastructure for the lackluster performance in T20 World Cup 2024
While speaking on a local sports show, Younis was asked about Pakistan's poor performances in the ICC tournaments recently. The legendary Pakistan batter gave a mature answer and blamed the whole infrastructure of Pakistan rather than putting the blame on the players.
"We give our views very quickly. If we talk about our current team, the players don't have a fault. Instead, I will blame the infrastructure. If we don't have the back-up, how will you replace the (out of form) players?" Younis argued.
Younis even stated that Pakistan don't have any option other than Babar Azam. He blamed the earlier committees for not building good infrastructure which could have helped to build a proper bench strength.
"We generally speak that Babar Azam should not be the captain. If not Babar Azam, who else should be the captain? That's not Babar Azam's fault. Neither this is the current selection committee's fault. This is the fault of something that happened 5-6 years back. We should have built our bench strength," Younis said.
"Actually the changes are happening so quickly. The chairman, captain, and even our government has changed so quickly. So, who will do the planning? This has happened from the last ten years," he added.
Captain babar nhe to phr kon??#BabarAzam???? #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/B6N2xBslyu
— Urooj Jawed🇵🇰 (@uroojjawed12) July 24, 2024
Babar Azam to be sacked from Pakistan's captaincy?
A decision on Babar Azam's captaincy is expected within a few days with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi stating that the decision will be taken after consultation with former Pakistan cricketers and white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten.
Not only as a captain, Babar Azam had a poor time with the bat too in the T20 World Cup 2024 where he scored 122 runs in four matches. Although he emerged as Pakistan's highest run-getter of the tournament, he finished with a strike rate of just 101.66.
Pakistan's next white-ball series is scheduled in November, where they have three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia. Before that, the Men in Green will play two Tests against Bangladesh and three Tests against England at home. Shan Masood is Pakistan's Test captain and he will lead the team in the upcoming red-ball games.
