Babar Azam Makes Huge Statement, Says "I Believe In My 15 Men More Than I Believe In Myself"

Babar Azam has hinted that Pakistan are unlikely to make too many changes to their team combination for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 due to the poor performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023.

Pakistan entered the tournament as the number one ODI side in the world and launched their campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal. But their performance dipped as the tournament progressed. Their chances were also hampered by a number of injury setbacks and the grueling traveling schedule.

They suffered a humiliating 228-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals and eventual winners India before going down by 2 wickets in the do-or-die clash against Sri Lanka. Their miseries were compounded by injuries to star bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. Rauf, who bowled just five overs against India, and Naseem missed the clash against Sri Lanka.

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And while Rauf has recovered in time for the World Cup, Naseem will miss the competition. Following Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the Asia Cup, there were calls from several quarters to make wholesale changes in the squad. However, the PCB has decided against making too many changes to the squad and Babar Azam has now hinted that Pakistan’s playing eleven would also not look too different in the World Cup.

“Before the last two games in the Asia Cup, we were doing really well with the same team. Although we could not deliver the way we could, but we have learnt from our mistakes, as individuals and as a team. We have discussed all our mistakes as a team with the support staff,” Babar Azam told reporters before departing to India for the World Cup.

“Asia Cup was a different tournament, World Cup is entirely different, so we will plan accordingly. We cannot comment on combinations without assessing the conditions first. We will go with whatever works best for the Pakistan team,” he added.

Babar Azam on dealing with mistakes:

Babar Azam was also asked about how would he deal with the mistakes after committing them in the Asia Cup. In reply, the Pakistan captain admitted that his team was not at its best in fielding and wicket-taking departments. He hoped that he and his teammates would not commit those mistakes in the all-important World Cup.

“It is a process, you can never be satisfied with your performance 100%. You recover as professionals, as a team. We know we have lapsed in fielding and in our wicket-taking abilities in the middle overs but we are going to work on it and hopefully will not be repeating them as we have made plans accordingly,” said Babar Azam.

Speaking further, Babar Azam highlighted the importance of backing under-pressure players, saying: “The more you play cricket, the more you learn. When you are playing well and are in-form, you wish to keep playing. But when you are making mistakes, it is different. You assess that differently, you have to work on it especially if a key player is struggling. You need to back your struggling player more because they are being criticised from the outside. Giving them confidence in the dressing room becomes even more important because these are the same boys who have won you consistently.

“I believe in my 15 men more than I believe in myself. Whatever team you make, you should know what your core is. I know who my players are – the ones who would be willing to put a fight – and I believe in them blindly. They are capable of winning you matches singlehandedly … We don’t get results as individuals, we get results as a team. There are ups-and-downs always but making changes does not help the team unity. As a team, we play match-to-match and we are eying the World Cup. We have nine matches to win before we can win the World Cup,” he added.

Pakistan are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign on October 6 against the Netherlands in Hyderabad.

Pakistan squad for ODI World Cup 2023:

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.