ODI World Cup 2023
Mohammad Amir slams Babar Azam and Ramiz Raja while citing MS Dhoni’s example
Former Pakistani pace bowler Mohammad Amir has slammed Babar Azam for his captaincy skills. The Pakistani side missed out on the semi-final berth for a third World Cup in a row. Babar Azam has been called out several times during the course of the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament for his leadership skills.
It was yet another disappointing tournament for the men in green as they finished with a loss in the final game to England. The 1992 World Cup winners began the tournament with two losses before losing four games in a row.
The Babar Azam led side tried to come back into the tournament with two successive wins. New Zealand’s huge win over Sri Lanka though put paid to the hopes as they were dumped out of the knock-out places.
Mohammad Amir slams Babar Azam’s leadership skills
Former Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir slammed Babar Azam for his captaincy skills and also took huge shots at Ramiz Raja. The 31-year-old was part of a show where he made his scathing comments.
Mohammad Amir first called out the comments made by Ramiz Raja on the need to change the system. Amir said “Captaincy does matter. What is the system? It is not a wall. Five and six people have been given responsibility to run the Pakistan cricket. A captain is also one of them. In 1992 under Imran Khan, we won the World Cup, the system was same. In 1999 our team was a world beater, who reached the finals. We won the 2009 T20 World Cup with the same system, we won the 2017 Champions Trophy under same system”
Calling out the captaincy of Babar Azam, here is what Amir had to say “Babar is captain for past four years. He has build his team on his own. Buttler is not part of our system, then why did England played so badly? Does the system in England also need a makeover? After 2015 debacle, Morgan said I want to play this brand of cricket, I want these 25 players. System remained the same, it is the captain, who changed his mindset”
Expressing his frustration the former pace bowler said “As long as the captain’s mindset doesn’t change, system can do nothing. Was it the system, who told him not to play Abrar Ahmed or bench Fakhar Zaman after the 1st game?
Mohammad Amir finished his point by giving an example of MS Dhoni “We say Dhoni changed India’s cricket, but he never changed the system. People kept saying that for how long will he keep giving Jadeja and Ashwin chances. And now we say Jadeja is World’s best all-rounder. MS Dhoni has given them the team,”