‘We are not playing good cricket….’ – Babar Azam’s honest take after Pakistan’s shock defeat against Afghanistan in ODI World Cup 2023

The Pakistan cricket team lost their fifth ODI World Cup 2023 game against Afghanistan on October 23 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Notably, Babar Azam and Co. had a magnificent start to the ODI World Cup 2023 campaign as they beat the Netherlands in their opening game, while the Men in Green registered a historic win over Sri Lanka in their second clash. However, they suffered back-to-back losses against arch-rivals India, five-time world champions Australia, and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, is deeply hurt after the loss to Afghanistan. The 29-year-old skipper acknowledged that they were not up to par with their bowling efforts and failed to take wickets, especially in the middle overs. In addition, the top-order batsman feels they failed with bowling as well as fielding, as they gave up a plethora of runs and were unable to stop boundaries.

“This hurts us. We had a good total. We aren’t up to the mark because we are not taking wickets in the middle overs. In the World Cup, if you are not good in even one department, then you’ll lose the match. In the field, we didn’t stop boundaries and gave away runs, that cost us,” Babar Azam said.

All credit to Afghanistan for the way they played in all three departments: Babar Azam

The Lahore-born skipper hails the Afghanistan team for excelling in all three departments, including batting, bowling, and fielding, which made them win the game against Pakistan. Moreover, the stylish right-handed batsman is hopeful to perform well in the next clash to make their spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.

“Bowling – we started well, in the middle overs, we needed wickets but we couldn’t take any wickets. All credit to Afghanistan for the way they played in all three departments. That’s why they won. We are not playing good cricket in bowling and fielding. We’ll try our best in the next match. We didn’t hit the lengths in the middle overs, especially our spinners. Also, we couldn’t put pressure on the batters,” he added further.