Liberty given by management in decision-making is the key behind Pakistan's T20 WC success: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar lauded the Pakistan team management for giving their skipper Babar Azam the correct backing and the authority to make decisions, which Akhtar believes has been the reason behind Pakistan’s recent success.

Akhtar lavished praises on the team for their extraordinary performance at the ongoing T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan stormed into the semi-finals, winning each one of their five Super12 games. The team also snapped their 12-match losing streak against arch-rivals India at the World Cups, with a thumping 10-wicket victory in their tournament-opening clash.

“Pakistan cruised through the Super 12s and their performances have been brilliant, the team needs to focus on delivering their best performance and leave the rest in the hands of God,” said Akhtar.

Akhtar reckoned that the freedom given to Babar in decision-making by the management has been the major reason behind Pakistan’s success at the tournament. Notably, Pakistan finished as the table-toppers in their group and are the only team that is undefeated in the tournament so far.

“The team management gave responsibility and liberty to him [Babar] and he looked like a proper captain for the first time in this tournament. One of the main reasons was because Babar was not being guided from the outside. Instead, he was allowed to make his own decisions,” added Shoaib.

The team now plays Australia on November 11 in the second semi-final. Akhtar recalled that last Pakistan had such a dominating campaign at a world event was the 1999 ODI World Cup, but also prayed the team does not repeat the mistakes from that campaign.

“The last time we cruised through the like this was back in 1999 World Cup, and I hope we don’t repeat the same mistakes as we did then,” he said. “If we get to the finals, it is my plea to the team, please don’t take the pressure.”

“We made the wrong call to bat first in 1999, and don’t repeat the mistakes. Just play your natural game and know that the entire nation is behind you whether we win or lose,” Akhtar concluded.