Addressing the media on Saturday, Hafeez addressed issues concerning Babar’s captaincy and pressured the significance of a collective effort.
“It isn’t truthful to only blame him for not reaching the Asia Cup last. We’re not prepared to offer credit score alone to the captain for reaching a last, so why blame him alone for not reaching the Asia Cup last? Cricket is a group recreation,” Hafeez mentioned, underlining the collaborative nature of the game.
Hafeez additional emphasised the necessity to stand by Babar Azam and the group throughout this significant section.
“These bunch of gamers have been taking part in collectively for some time now underneath Babar, so if we handle some weak areas, Pakistan stays among the many high 4 favourites within the World Cup,” he asserted.
Whereas addressing areas of enchancment, Hafeez said, “We have to replicate on the place we went mistaken, and what’s apparent is that our spinners did not ship as anticipated, and the accidents to Haris and Naseem did damage us.”
Hafeez made it abundantly clear {that a} change in management at this juncture wouldn’t be prudent, stating, “Babar wants full assist, and it might be a folly to even take into consideration altering the captain now.”
Reflecting on the distinctive challenges of taking part in in India, Hafeez drew from his personal experiences, having participated within the 2011 World Cup in India.
“The issue is a lot of our gamers have restricted publicity to taking part in in Indian circumstances,” he acknowledged.
“It’s a large problem for any Pakistani participant to carry out in India throughout a mega occasion, however hopefully, we will depend on our gamers to rise to the event. We should not let the frustration of the Asia Cup deter our optimism or assist for the group.”
(With inputs from PTI)