After Pakistan lost badly to Afghanistan, ending their hopes of making it to the World Cup, top journalist Abdul Majid Bhatti said that captain Babar Azam was about to cry and spit out facts in front of the media out of emotion. In his post-match news conference, Bhatti, who is in India to cover the mega event, talked about the fitness problems that Babar brought up.
‘Babar Azam almost cried at incredibly emotional presser’
On Monday, Afghanistan easily beat Pakistan’s 283-run target thanks to strong performances from Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77 not out), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out). This was their second win in the event so far.
If you were in Pakistan, you might not have seen Babar Azam’s news conference after the loss to Afghanistan. It was a very emotional event that I saw with my own eyes. “So I think he was about to cry, and because he was upset, he said a lot of things that normally cricketers wouldn’t say,” Bhatti said.
The journalist said that Babar was to blame for the mess the Pakistan team was in now and said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had stopped the training plan when Misbah-ul-Haq quit as head coach two years ago.
He was also upset about how much attention was being paid to Biryani, chops, and karahi since the team got to Hyderabad and not enough to diet. He made it clear that the players were professionals and should pay attention to it instead of other things.
“Before the World Cup, you (Babar Azam) fought with PCB for three months to get your salary raised under the central contract.” Three players—Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Sha Afridi—are getting close to Rs 5.7–5.8 million each for the A category central deal. Okay, cricket is making money, and you need to get paid. “But I think Babar Azam is to blame when you don’t do your job as captain for three and a half years and then complain about not being fit,” Bhatti said.
At the same time, journalist Sohail Imran denied rumors that there were fights within the team. He was shocked, though, that the PCB put out a news release about a social media post.
