ISLAMABAD: The upcoming limited overs home ground series against the New Zealand cricket team may be another opportunity for the Pakistan to prepare for the Cricket World Cup 2023. Still, speculations surrounding skipper Babar Azam have put him under strict scrutiny.
The cricket series, which begins in Lahore later this week, has become a main assignment for Babar Azam as his role as Pakistan’s cricketer all-format captain has come under the scanner despite him being the most prolific batter for the side.
Najam Sethi, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, tried to shrug off the ongoing speculations but fell short of full support for the Babar batter.
Sethi, in a series of tweets on Monday, said that for months, media and cricketing circles have been discussing the cons and pros of retaining Babar as captain in all formats of the cricket game.
In that regard, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief added that he sought the views of cricket selection committees headed by Shahid Afridi and now Haroon Rashid.
1/3 For months media and cricketing circles have been discussing pros and cons of retaining Babar Azam as captain in all formats of the game. Since this decision is ultimately Chairman’s, I have sought views of Selection Committees headed by Shahid Afridi and now Haroon Rashid.
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) April 10, 2023
“Both cricket Committees thought the matter merited discussion, but both later concluded that the status quo should be retained. I’ve subsequently publicly stated this position. In the final analysis, my decision will be subject to the success and failure of the status quo.”
Given that reasoning by Najam Sethi, Babar must be fully aware that he needs to ensure that his cricket team gives its best and wins both in the ODI and Twenty-20 International series against the visitors to prove his mettle.
He will have a full-strength cricket team for the series, including comeback pacer Shaheen Shah.
So unlike the series against the Afghanistan cricket team that Pakistan lost after fielding a second-string cricket team, the skipper would have no excuses.
On Tuesday, the Tom Latham-led New Zealand team arrived in Pakistan to play five One Day International and as many Twenty20Is.
The team landed at Lahore airport before being escorted to the hotel with high-security measures in area. They will commence practice tomorrow.
The Twenty-20 International matches will take place in Lahore (14, 15, 17 April) and Rawalpindi (29, 24 April), and the ODIs will be held in Rawalpindi (27m 29 April) and Karachi (3,5,7 May).
After reaching Pakistan, New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell said they are excited about playing Twenty20 and One Day International series in Pakistan.
He said, “There are young cricket players in the team who haven’t played in these conditions before,” Terming the Pakistan tour a “challenging” one, the cricket player said that Pakistan has a world-class team. He said that “Conditions are quite different here from the New Zealand cricket team, and young players will gain experience,”
“The series is quite long. We will try to play good cricket.”
