{"id":23635,"date":"2023-11-11T19:34:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T19:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/mickey-arthur-backs-under-fire-babar-azam-to-stay-pakistan-captain\/"},"modified":"2023-11-11T19:34:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T19:34:54","slug":"mickey-arthur-backs-under-fire-babar-azam-to-stay-pakistan-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/mickey-arthur-backs-under-fire-babar-azam-to-stay-pakistan-captain\/","title":{"rendered":"Mickey Arthur backs ‘under-fire’ Babar Azam to stay Pakistan captain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

KOLKATA: Pakistan\u2019s team director Mickey Arthur has backed captain Babar Azam, who is under fire over \u2018below-par captaincy\u2019, to stay in the role following the national team\u2019s group-stage exit from ICC World Cup 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was the second successive World Cup where they missed out on a semi-final spot by finishing in fifth place in the 10-nation table.<\/p>\n

\u201cBabar Azam is very, very close to me,\u201d said Arthur while addressing a post-match conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a young guy that needs to be taken on the journey. He needs to be shown the ropes. He\u2019s still learning all the time and is growing,\u201d the team\u2019s director said.<\/p>\n

Mickey Arthur also insisted that the injury-enforced absence of key strike bowler Naseem Shah on the eve of the World Cup was a blow from which they never recovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve continually tried to push is that we\u2019re behind the eight ball. Our game needs to go to another level. I think we missed Naseem Shah. But if you get Naseem Shah, our bowling attack\u2019s good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Runs also proved hard to come by regularly with not one Pakistan batsman making it into the top 10 run makers at the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cBatting-wise, we have to become a 330-350 team. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve done that consistently enough. We do that when Fakhar Zaman comes off and we can\u2019t just be relying on one-on-one players,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Read More: England sign off with victory, Pakistan eliminated<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Arthur insisted he was ready to face the music after Pakistan\u2019s World Cup campaign ended with a 93-run defeat against England.<\/p>\n

The 2019 debacle led to the end of Arthur\u2019s first spell as head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I\u2019ll just go back to the Peak District in Derbyshire, I\u2019ll be really happy and that\u2019ll be okay,\u201d said Arthur after overseeing a campaign which brought four wins and five losses, including a defeat to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Arthur did not sever his ties with Derbyshire and only joined up with the Pakistan team once the English county season was over.<\/p>\n

That was an arrangement severely criticised by some former Pakistan players who described Arthur\u2019s job as \u201ccoaching on Zoom\u201d.<\/p>\n

Arthur admitted that 1992 champions Pakistan simply did not play well enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe finished fifth, and fifth is where we deserve to finish with the cricket that we\u2019ve played over the last six weeks,\u201d said Arthur.<\/p>\n

\u201cInconsistency, unfortunately, doesn\u2019t breed success. But that is no excuse at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI came in to do this directive job, obviously in conjunction with Derbyshire because I care a hell of a lot for that dressing room. Pakistan cricket is very close to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Pakistan out of the race for the last four, New Zealand will now meet undefeated India in the first semi-final in Mumbai on November 15.<\/p>\n

Australia face South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata a day later.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n