"No player walked towards Babar"- Former Pakistan cricketer slams lack of unity in team after Asia Cup 2023 exit

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan is concerned about reports of arguments between captain Babar Azam and other players like Shaheen Afridi after their Asia Cup 2023 defeat to Sri Lanka on Friday.

Babar was reportedly furious at the performances of the senior players, while Shaheen urged the captain to focus on the positives. The argument seems to have shown the lack of unity in the Pakistan team, as per Khan.

Speaking to Geo TV, Moin Khan spoke about having made some key observations about Babar Azam and Co. during the Asia Cup:

“We saw in the entire tournament, I’ve commented about it earlier as well. … no player walked towards Babar. Neither Rizwan came to him, nor even the vice-captain was coming to him. No one was going to him. It felt everyone was scattered. There was no unity."

He added:

“It’s good that such matters have come out before the big tournament. So that, you can rectify and improve conduct. This will develop unity.

"The issues should not happen during matches. This does not send a good vibe that such reports are coming out in the media about fight, argument in the dressing room."

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Moin Khan slammed Pakistan team management for poor handling

Moin Khan also slammed the lack of involvement of the Pakistan team's director of cricket in the Asia Cup.

He feels that the head coach and others in the dressing room could have handled the situation better and kept things transparent with captain Babar Azam:

“The handling has not been right. If somebody has an issue with Babar or if he is not handling the issue in the right manner in the absence of the head coach or director of cricket, who is not with the team it very unfortunate. It’s their job to intervene to handle such situation."

The injury to Naseem Shah has compounded Pakistan's problems ahead of the World Cup next month.