Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed extreme frustration after his team's loss to Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023 which knocked them out of the continental tournament. Pakistan needed to defeat Dasun Shanaka's side to set up a summit clash with India but they were defeated by two wickets and subsequently eliminated from the competition. Ultimately, they ended up at the bottom of the Super Four table after India's loss to Bangladesh.
Media reports now suggest that the captain of the Men in Green Babar Azam became visibly upset in the dressing room after the defeat. He criticized some players for their poor performance, a comment that didn't go down well with bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm pacer interrupted and urged Babar to acknowledge the players who had performed well, but the captain didn't respond positively. Eventually, Mohammad Rizwan had to step in to resolve the issue. Details of the spat inside the dressing room was reported by Dawn News among other media channels.
Here is the viral news clip:
Such reports of spat between the Pakistan teammates are not encouraging signs ahead of the ODI World Cup. While Babar & Co. had headed into the ODI World Cup as the number 1 ranked side, they failed to live up to the reputation, losing to both India and Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage.
While they lost to India by a record margin of 228 runs, it was a close game against Sri Lanka which they lost. However, their Net Run Rate (NRR) post their defeat to India had taken a massive hit which is why finished last in the Super Fours. To make matters worse for them, Naseem Shah has picked up an injury during this Asia Cup which seems to be a serious injury and could see him missing the World Cup.