Back in India after 7 years, the Pakistan cricket team is prepping up for the ICC World Cup 2023 as they look for their second title since 1992. Several experts have even labelled the men in green as one of the favourites but their recent form happens to be a huge matter of concern.
Babar Azam & Co were knocked out of the Asia Cup 2023 last month after facing humiliating defeats against India and Sri Lanka. After arriving in India, Pakistan faced New Zealand in their first warm-up fixture but lost the game despite setting a mammoth 346 target. The batters did a phenomenal job with Mohammed Rizwan striking a century and the likes of Babar and Saud Shakeel getting 50-plus scores. But the Pakistan bowling attack – without Shaheen Afridi – failed to contain the Black Caps, who chased down the target in 43.4 overs.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan observed that players looked scattered in the practice game against New Zealand. Speaking with Cricket Pakistan, Moin said the team wasn’t gelled up and a lack of discussions between the players was evident.
“I saw this 100%. The players looked scattered, they were hesitant to even give suggestions to Babar, whether it was Rizwan, Shadab or Shaheen. It was visible that the team wasn’t gelled up. There were no discussions, and even if there were suggestions and Babar was following them, they weren’t working,” Moin told Cricket Pakistan.
The former captain’s remarks came amid the ongoing rumours about a fall-out in the Pakistan dressing room after the team’s exit from the Asia Cup 2023. Moin further noted that the men in green looked “scared” against India in Colombo.
“Another thing was, against India, players are scared. And those who really are scared that their suggestions won’t work… that’s fear. As a cricketer, you have to play on your potential and you should contribute 100%. It’s okay if your suggestions go wrong, it happens. But your body language shows whether you want to win, and that wasn’t visible,” said Moin.
And I’m pretty sure there were some issues in the dressing room. And I know, in a professional environment, there are differences but you have to end them to perform better. You have to move on,” he added.
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