Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi gave the vote of confidence to Babar Azam on Saturday ahead of the tri-series opener against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, saying the seasoned batter is under no pressure as he remains the backbone of the team.
After the debacle on the UK tour, where Pakistan lost all three Tests against England, there was enough chatter about Babar’s form, with the right-hander not scoring a century in the format since December 2022. However, the same is not the case in ODIs, with runs consistently coming off his bat, with his last five scores reading 102*, 34, 69, 16, and 40.
Following the horrid campaign against England, where Babar missed the first Test, the batter returned to domestic cricket to find some form. However, disappointment followed, as he managed just 58 runs across four innings. There are questions over his place as the Test captain, but Shaheen reckons there’s no pressure on the former captain as he has performed consistently for the team in the 50-over format.
“There is no pressure on Babar; he is our main player. He is the backbone of our team. In our last ODI series, he performed really well. After the England Tests, he went back to domestic cricket and tried to score runs,” Shaheen told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“It is part and parcel of the game. Whenever he has played, he has scored runs for Pakistan. Our focus is on winning the game. We are not concerned about playing aggressive cricket and following the footsteps of other teams,” he stated further.
Mid-way through the England Test series, the PCB sent seven players back home, and Babar later said he wasn’t consulted on the decision. Later, he was dropped from the Asian Games squad and the subsequent T20I series against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won 2-1 under Sahibzada Farhan’s leadership.
When it comes to Pakistan cricket, the outside noise always takes precedence, and 2026 has been proof enough. However, the chaos needs to be put on the back burner as Pakistan begin their preparation for the ODI World Cup on Sunday with the tri-series against Sri Lanka and England.
The pitch conundrum
Earlier this year, when Australia toured Pakistan for three ODIs, head coach Mike Hesson and the team management came under scrutiny for preparing spin-friendly conditions despite knowing that the World Cup would be played in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where there would be more assistance for the pacers.
Shaheen on Saturday said that fans can now expect to see some fast pitches in Pakistan, as the management wants to prepare players for next year’s World Cup, where the side are in the same group as India, Australia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Qualifier A.
“In the last four ODI series we have played, our focus has been on building the team. Our focus is on the World Cup; keeping the tournament in mind, we have made the pitches accordingly so that our fast bowlers get some preparation,” said Shaheen.