WATCH: Babar Azam arrives in Lahore after Pakistan’s dismal show at World Cup 2023

After a disappointing campaign at the ODI World Cup 2023 in India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam returned home on Monday. England, the defending champions, convincingly defeated Babar’s Pakistan side in their final group game in Kolkata on Saturday. Ben Stokes played a stellar inning, leading England to victory and ending their challenging title defence.

This marks the second consecutive time that Pakistan has failed to progress to the later stages of the ODI World Cup. Despite of suffering a 93-run loss to England, Babar was greeted by family members. Along with that, he was even surrounded by security personnel. In addition to this, he even received a warm welcome upon arriving at Lahore International Airport.

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As per a PTI report, Babar is scheduled to meet with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf this week. The report suggests that Babar’s future as the team captain will be decided after the meeting. During Babar’s leadership at the ODI World Cup in India, Pakistan lost five out of nine matches, and he also lost his top position in the ODI batting rankings to Indian opener Shubman Gill. Babar, who became Pakistan’s white-ball captain in 2019 and Test captain in 2021, has led the team in two Asia Cups, two T20 World Cups, and one ODI World Cup, achieving notable successes.

He did not prove himself as a good leader: Shahid Afridi

As the Pakistan cricket team failed to advance to the knockout stages of the current Cricket World Cup in India, captain Babar Azam is facing criticism. Following Pakistan’s defeat to England in the final group stage match, Ramiz Raja mentioned that he had discussed with Babar before the game, indicating that Babar might consider stepping down from the captaincy upon returning to Pakistan. On Monday, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi strongly criticized Babar’s captaincy.

“I’m a fan of Babar. Babar is a big player, for me, he is like a younger brother. I wanted Babar to join the list of top captains in the world. He’s been captain for four years or so, there was never a sword hanging over his head. We all supported him during this phase. We thought in three-four years he would be well-groomed to handle the responsibility of a captain. He would mould himself as a captain. But this didn’t happen. He could not improve in this period and could not prove himself as a good leader. We have seen plenty of errors during the World Cup,” said Shahid Afridi during an event in Karachi as reported by Indianexpress