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Defending champions Pakistan, internet hosting a significant world event for the primary time in practically three many years, made a disappointing begin to their Champions Trophy marketing campaign.
‘Babar By no means Targeted On Constructing…’: Umar Akmal Takes Huge Dig At Star Batter (Image credit score: AP)
Former Pakistan medium-pacer Umar Akmal, who’s the cousin brother of Babar Azam, has taken a large dig on the latter, saying that he by no means centered on constructing bench power due to private preferences as captain, as a consequence of which the group is struggling now.
Defending champions Pakistan, internet hosting a significant world occasion for the primary time in 30 years, made a disappointing starting to their Champions Trophy marketing campaign, dropping to New Zealand within the opening recreation and jeopardising their possibilities of qualifying for the semis.
Akmal, who has been out of the nationwide group for the final six years, didn’t maintain again in criticising Babar’s captaincy, accusing him of missing imaginative and prescient.
“Babar was captain for practically 5 years more often than not in all codecs and he by no means tried to construct up the bench power as a consequence of his likes and dislikes,” Akmal mentioned whereas talking on a TV channel.
Babar served as Pakistan’s skipper from late 2019 till 2023 earlier than stepping down after the World Cup. He was reinstated as skipper final 12 months for white-ball codecs however gave up the function after a disappointing T20 World Cup marketing campaign.
Akmal claimed that in a time when he was in good kind and scoring runs in home cricket, he had approached Babar, asking for a chance to make a comeback.
Akmal’s final first-class hundred got here within the President’s Trophy Grade I event when he scored 128 runs in opposition to the Sui Northern Gasoline Pipelines Restricted in January 2024.
“I informed Babar that look give me a good probability. You might be doing properly within the prime order and I will be your finisher and we are able to win matches frequently and it will likely be good for Pakistan cricket,” Akmal mentioned.
“He didn’t hearken to me and for 5 years when he was captain he by no means bothered to attempt to construct a robust bench as a result of solely groups with good backup gamers do constantly properly in all codecs,” Akmal added.
Babar himself has been in poor kind, scoring a tricky fifty in opposition to New Zealand which didn’t assist his group’s trigger and shall be beneath strain when Pakistan tackle arch-rivals India on Sunday in a do-or-die encounter.
- Location :
Karachi, Pakistan