Misbah defends Babar Azam and Shadab Khan

After Pakistan's defeat and elimination in the 2023 Asia Cup, former head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, has come forward to defend captain Babar Azam and all-rounder Shadab Khan.

During a media talk on Monday in Karachi, Misbah emphasized that the loss was a collective team failure and shouldn't be attributed to a single individual. 

"The captain alone wasn't responsible for playing 228 runs alone. This is a collective team failure. This happens in cricket. Obviously, we just have to look back. We have to review our performance and strategize what we are going to do in the World Cup. This is not the right attribute to target one person; obviously, your other ten players are also playing, you also have management, and this was the same team that was winning consecutively. Of course, there are mistakes that should be amended," Misbah said.

Misbah also highlighted that while the spin department faced challenges in the match, it's important not to single out players and lose faith in their abilities. Misbah emphasized against jumping to conclusions based on one poor performance.

"Our spin department couldn't perform well, but that doesn't mean players lack something; however, they can improvise. Don't press the panic button on one bad performance; this was the same Shadab Khan who performed well in the past," he further added.

Pakistan faced 228-run loss against India in the Super Four match and lost by two wickets to Sri Lanka in a virtual knock out, leading to their elimination from the 2023 Asia Cup. The national team is now gearing up for ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 set to begin from October 5 in India.