Watch- Babar Azam faces severe backlash in Pakistan parliament after team's early exit from T20 World Cup 2024

Updated - 23 Jun 2024, 10:20 AM

Abdul Qadir Patel and Babar Azam
Abdul Qadir Patel and Babar Azam. Image Credits: X

The problems for Pakistan cricket are not coming to an end so soon as the Men in Green are in a new controversy now. Pakistan captain Babar Azam faced extreme backlash in the country's parliament when he was slammed by a member of parliament in Pakistan after the team's shocking early exit from the tournament.

Abdul Qadir Patel, a member of Parliament in Pakistan, took a brutal dig at his country's cricket captain by saying that Pakistan lost to the USA and India in the World Cup. During his speech, he sarcastically took a dig at former Pakistan captain and former Prime Minister Imran Khan by saying that Babar Azam should also declare this as a conspiracy against him.

"Yeh cricket team ko kya hua hai. Yeh America se bhi haar gaye. Yeh India se bhi haar gaye toh Babar Azam ko apne hi kisi senior cricketer se sabak lete hue haarne ke baad ek jalsa rakhe, woh usme kagaz lehraye bole dekho yeh mere khilaf saazish ho rahi hai, koi usse kuch nahi puchega. Uske baad jo hai woh baat hi khatam ho jayegi. "What's wrong with our cricket team? They lost to America (USA), they lost to India. Babar Azam should take a lesson from one of his senior cricketers and throw a party after losing where he should wave some documents in public stating, 'There's been a conspiracy against me'," Abdul Qadir Patel stated in Parliament.

Through the name of the senior cricketer, Qadir was referring to Pakistan's 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan, who is the country's former Prime Minister but is currently in prison.

Also read: After Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik eyes spectacular Pakistan comeback for Champions Trophy 2025

Here is the video of Babar Azam being grilled in Pakistan assembly:

Pakistan's performance in T20 World Cup 2024

Pakistan had a poor T20 World Cup 2024, which is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. The Men in Green lost their opening match of the tournament to the USA in a Super Over.

In their second match, they lost a close encounter to arch-rivals India despite being on top after the first innings of the match. In the first innings, Pakistan had restricted India to just 119. But the batters failed to chase down the target as the team lost by 6 runs.

The Green Brigade won its final two matches of the group stage against Canada and Ireland but were not able to qualify for the Super 8 stage. After the early exit, Babar Azam's captaincy has come under serious threat as the team looks to start a fresh journey. Pakistan's bowling was impressive in the tournament but the batters' continuous failures didn't help the team's cause.

Meanwhile, it was the USA, who qualified for the Super 8 stage from Group A, alongside India. The USA registered two wins against Canada and Pakistan in the group stage. Their only loss in the group stage came against India while their match against Ireland was washed out due to rain.

Tagged:

ICC T20 World Cup Pakistan national cricket team Abdul Qadir Patel Babar Azam