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Former Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad launched a scathing attack on Babar Azam and his men after yet another disappointing loss at the T20 World Cup 2024. After losing to the USA in a Super Over, Pakistan failed to chase down 120 against India to put themselves on the brink of a shock elimination from the group stage.
Shehzad took an indirect dig at experienced players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have been the spine of the Pakistan team for the past few years and asked for accountability.
Speaking on a Pakistan TV show, Ahmed Shehzad claimed that these players had made a fool of fans by scoring against second-string sides of several teams. He said (via India Today):
"There are players who are taking care of the team for the last 4-5 years, who take all the decisions. So wasn't it their duty to take the responsibility of ensuring that the team chases down 120 to win such an important match against India? Aapne B, C, D teams ke khilaaf perform kar ke logon ko hallucinate kiya hai aur pagal banaya hai (you guys have performaed against B, C, D teams and fooled the people)."
Shehzad also claimed that ever since Babar Azam was made the captain, Pakistan have lost to some mediocre teams and that he wasn't surprised at all with the way the Men in Green have performed in the T20 World Cup so far.
Ahmed Shehzad tore into Babar Azam's batting
Babar Azam was dismissed for just 13 runs off 10 balls against India and couldn't give his team the start that they were looking for. Ahmed Shehzad slammed the Pakistan captain, who had recently become the highest run-scorer in the T20I format, and questioned Babar's performances on the big stage.
Here's what Shehzad opined:
"Your (Babar) scores in big competitions...your average is 27 and your strike rate is 112. And 1400 of your runs have come in a losing cause, which is at No. 3 in the world in that list. So these stats are of which king, tell me that? What should I do with this king who can't win us the match?"
Pakistan face a do-or-die clash against Canada on June 11. Even if they win their remaining two games, Babar and his men have to hope that other results go their way and that they have a healthy net run rate.
