"Never criticized Babar Azam for Pakistan's 2023 World Cup losses" - PCB official defends statement post PAK vs AFG game

Ever since Babar Azam stepped down from Pakistan's all-format captaincy, there had been a lot of talk about whether the star batter was rightly treated by the board.

While Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 203 World Cup, the statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after their loss to Afghanistan attracted a lot of criticism.

While the PCB urged the fans to get behind the team, an excerpt from the press release mentioned that captain Babar Azam and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq got the players they wanted. Here's what the statement read:

"Addressing the media scrutiny directed at captain Babar Azam and the team management, the board's stance, echoing that of former cricketers, is that successes and defeats are part of the game. Captain Babar Azam and Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq were given freedom and support in forming the squad for the ICC World Cup 2023."

Aalia Rasheed, the Director of Media at PCB, has now come out in support of the board and has claimed that they neither intended to harm the reputation of the Pakistan captain, nor blame him for the defeat. She told local reporters:

"One thing I want to make clear is that the PCB never, for once, criticised Babar Azam or the team during the World Cup nor did they try to hold Azam responsible for the losses," she said, in an interaction with a local media outlet."

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Babar Azam wasn't ready to compromise even on a single player: PCB official

Aalia Rasheed further claimed that the board had to accept every single player that Babar wanted in the team and that they gave him their full co-operation.

On this, she stated:

"Look, Babar is a respectable player there is no doubt about that and he has an independent nature, and I believe that every captain should possess that quality but it doesn't mean that you ignore the recommendation of other selection committee members. In that press release, it was stated that the team was chosen by Inzamam and Babar and that was the truth. He [Babar] wasn't ready to compromise on even a single player and the board supported him. It is a fact whether one accepts it or not."

Pakistan have decided to move in a new direction with Shaheen Afridi being named as the new T20I captain and Shan Masood as the new Test captain.