‘There are three groups in the team’ - Babar Azam failed as Pakistan skipper in second stint according to PCB source

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has had a forgettable campaign with the Men in Green in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green faced an early exit from the marquee tournament after they conceded defeats against the USA and arch-rivals India. 

Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 has been credited to the groupings within the squad and the inability of the senior players in the side to perform to the peak of their abilities. 

According to a source within the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), the biggest challenge that Babar Azam faced on his return to captaincy was finding a way to unite the team. The source revealed that Pakistan is divided into three groups: one led by Babar Azam, one led by Shaheen Afridi, and one led by Mohammad Rizwan.

"There are three groups in the team: one led by Babar Azam, the second by Shaheen Shaheen Afridi and the third one by Muhammad Rizwan. Add to this mix the return of seniors like Muhammad Aamir and Imad Wasim and the recipe was ready for a World Cup disaster," the source was quoted as saying by The Week.

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"The return of Imad and Amir added to the confusion as it was difficult for Babar to get any worthwhile performances from both of them as they had not played top-level domestic or international cricket for a long while now except in franchise-based leagues. There were even instances where some players were not talking to each other and a few of them even tried to appease all the group leaders in the team," he added.

Furthermore, a senior PCB official also came forward to state that Chairman Mohsin Naqvi was well aware of the problems within the squad, and he was told about the same by national selector and senior manager, Wahab Riaz.

“Naqvi held two meetings with all the players in private and gave them pep talks asking them to put their issues aside and focus on winning the World Cup and he would remove all misgivings in the team later on but apparently things didn't work out,” the official said.