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Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has returned home after his team's disappointing performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The Men in Green entered the tournament as one of the favourites but failed to live up to expectations. They started off with two straight wins but suffered a string of defeats, including a massive upset at the hands of Afghanistan.
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The 1992 champions failed to enter the knockout stages of the premier 50-over tournament for the second time in a row. Babar and his team finished the 2023 campaign in fifth place after losing five of their league matches. They had to defeat England by an unbelievable margin in their final match to leapfrog New Zealand. However, nothing went Pakistan's way as they suffered a 93-run loss to the defending champions, bringing their tour of India to a miserable end.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan captain received a warm welcome at the Lahore International Airport on his return home. Babar was seen being surrounded by security officials. Some fans were spotted trying to click a selfie with the former ODI No. 1 batter.
Watch the video below:
Warm welcome for the King Babar Azam at Airport ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Z2Ea1HLJKj
— SAAD 🇵🇰 (@SaadIrfan258) November 12, 2023
What will be Babar Azam's captaincy future?
According to a PTI report, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to take a call on Babar's captaincy future. The 29-year-old will meet PCB chief Zaka Ashraf this week. Even before the World Cup, Babar's captaincy was criticised from some quarters. Now that Pakistan faced a disastrous campaign in India, the right-handed batter came under fire.
Babar was appointed as Pakistan's white-ball captain in 2019. In 2021, he took over the reins in all formats after assuming the captaincy in Test cricket. Apart from the ongoing ODI World Cup, the Lahore-born player has led the home team in two Asia Cups and two T20 World Cups. Notably, Babar guided Pakistan to the final of the T20 World Cup last year in Australia.
"Yes, very disappointed with the performance. Our spinners haven't taken wickets. That's had a big effect. If spinners don't take wickets in middle over, you struggle. We have to sit together. Let's see. Will take positives and discuss our mistakes also. I will do the best to pitch in my experience," Babar said in the post-match presentations of PAK vs ENG.