Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has said that Pakistan are over-dependent on their former captain Babar Azam. His comments came after Pakistan’s Test and T20I series losses in Australia and New Zealand respectively. The veteran off-spinner believes that Pakistan have failed to do well as a unit, which has led to their downfall across formats as well.
The cricketer-turned-commentator was recently quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan: “Babar is a good player, but alongside him, there are other talented players in the team as well. It’s a common tendency in both of our countries that we often praise one player extensively, sometimes overlooking the contributions of other players.“While Virat Kohli is often praised, similarly, there’s much talk about Babar. However, teams don’t win solely because of one player; they win when the entire team performs well.”
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Harbhajan Singh continued: “The other players in the team also need recognition because, ultimately, it’s the collective effort of the team that makes it strong. No doubt, Babar is a quality player, and I hope he starts scoring runs.”The other players in the team are also quality players, and they need to collaborate to strengthen the team and achieve victory.”
However, the Shan Masood-led team were recently whitewashed 0-3 in the Test series in Australia as well. They then lost 1-4 to New Zealand in the away T20I series under the captaincy of Shaheen Afridi. Meanwhile, Azam had a forgetful Test series against Australia, scoring only 126 runs in six innings at a below-par average of 21 as well.
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“The change in captaincy was a reaction to the World Cup. Pakistan’s team did not perform well, and it was a reaction to that. It’s evident that cricket holds significant importance in both India and Pakistan and if a team doesn’t perform well in the World Cup, it can have a profound impact on players’ careers,” Harbhajan Singh concluded. “I think it was a reaction, but I believe the decision was not taken at the right time. Sometimes, a decision made too late can set you back, and perhaps this decision is one of the reasons that Pakistan’s cricket has progressed backward rather than forward.”
