NEW DELHI: Amid bashing from all quarters following their early
T20 World Cup
exit, Pakistan captain
Babar Azam
and star players
Mohammad Rizwan
and
Shaheen Shah Afridi
found some solace as former skipper
Younis Khan
called them Pakistan's pride.
Younis' words of encouragement came at a time when the team was grappling with the fallout of their disappointing performance in the tournament.
Pakistan suffered an embarrassing first-round exit from the T20 World Cup after the USA-Ireland match was abandoned because of rain. This was 2009 champions earliest-ever elimination from a T20 World Cup.
T20 World Cup 2024: Points Table | Schedule
Pakistan's campaign began with a stunning loss against the debutant USA team, a match that left fans and experts in disbelief. The team's struggles continued as they succumbed to a defeat against arch-rivals India.
"We are not talking against anyone. But we are trying to make everyone understand. We are proud of Babar Azam, Shaheen and Rizwan as well. They have had terrific achievements in cricket. It is not just Babar Azam's fault, or the coach's. It is everyone's fault. It is not that he did not reach the semi-finals, we as a nation did not. Everyone needs to sit together and make decisions. Don't say that we do not have white-ball cricket in the next 6 months, so we will take that decision later," Younis Khan said on a PTV Sports show.
Younis, however, raised concerns about Babar's decision not to bat at the No. 3 position from the beginning of the tournament. He believed that both Babar and Rizwan possessed the skills to bat in the middle order.
"If the team needs you, you should open or play at number 3. There are some concerns about this team's batting and they should sit down and take decisions about the same," he said.
"We speak about only 2 batters (Babar and Rizwan), can they not bat anywhere in the line-up? They can, right? They need to enhance only a little, evolve just a little (to improve their power game)," Younis added.
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