Karachi, February 16 Underperforming batsman Babar Azam found himself under pressure after Pakistan's 61-run loss to their rivals India in a T20 World Cup match, with several former players in the country demanding his removal along with some other senior players.
Former captain Babar, senior spinner Shadab Khan, and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi failed to perform in the one-sided contest in Colombo on Sunday night. While the Pakistani bowlers were effectively countered by young opener Ishan Kishan (77 off 40 balls), their batsmen were outplayed by the combined strength of India's top pacers and spinners.
"If I were in charge, I would not pick Babar, Shadab, and Shaheen again in the T20 team. They have had plenty of opportunities to perform for Pakistan but failed again yesterday," said former captain Shahid Afridi.
Afridi said it was time to groom younger players in the format. While Shaheen conceded 31 runs in two overs, Babar was dismissed by Axar Patel for five runs while attempting a slog despite his team being down to 13 runs in a challenging chase of 176.
Former captain and batting great Javed Miandad was not even willing to elaborate on the loss, but acknowledged that Pakistan's cricket team has been unable to perform under pressure.
"Players have to show character in big matches. Unfortunately, our players did not show that character," Miandad said.
Mohammad Yousaf, another former captain who has always supported Babar, also said that the debacle should mark the end of Babar and Shaheen's T20 careers.
"It's time for Babar, Shaheen, and Shadab. Pakistan's T20 squad needs new performers, not empty victories against weaker teams," Yousaf posted on X.
Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar, while speaking on Indian news channel ABP, mocked Babar's superstar status.
"You have made a superstar out of a player (Babar Azam) who cannot win you a game," he said.
"For the last 15-20 years, there has been no investment. The sad reality is that while we fought with India on the ground at one point, today we can't even dream of beating them," he added.
Ahmed Shehzad, a vocal critic of Babar, felt that Babar had played his final game for Pakistan in the format.
"Babar is gone again. Maybe it was his last chance to prove himself in this format," Shehzad wrote on X.
The defeat has left the Pakistani cricket community despondent, with several social media users also mocking the team by saying that perhaps the Pakistan government should have adhered to the boycott call in support of Bangladesh.
"It would have been better if we had stuck with the boycott," posted several handles here.
Former captain Moin Khan said perhaps it was time to accept that India were a far more superior side to Pakistan in any format right now.
"We got our hopes up again this time but as a professional cricketer there was always that lingering feeling that the Indian players will come through when it mattered the most," Moin said.
Miandad said he was surprised to see Pakistan go with just one pace bowler in Shaheen Shah Afridi.
"Why didn't they play (pacer) Faheem Ashraf? What kind of strategy is this to play six spinners?" he wondered.
Former captain Rashid Latif said Pakistan's optimism ahead of the match was bolstered by its back-to-back wins in the previous two league games against lower-ranked teams -- the USA and the Netherlands.
"Look this time there were genuine reasons for the pre-match optimism. The team appeared to be adapting to modern day T20 cricket requirements and looked comfortable under the stewardship of (coach) Mike Hesson and (captain) Salman Ali Agha. But as usual we forgot how good this Indian team really is," Latif said.
"They are a big match team and every player is suited to his role. Unfortunately watching yesterday's match it was obvious we got all our planning wrong," he added.
