Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif seems utterly disappointed with the performance of the team in recent times. The 55-year-old did not mince his words while discussing the present situation of Pakistan cricket on a recent YouTube podcast. He felt that the squad required improvement in several aspects to overcome the lean patch. Latif reckoned only “technically sound professionals” can help Pakistan cricket get back to its shape. The Asian giants have been in poor form this year.
Led by Babar Azam, Pakistan had a disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup. They were eliminated from the tournament after losing to India and the USA in the first round. They also failed miserably in the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh, played on home soil.
Pakistan suffered a whitewash in the two-match assignment and an underwhelming performance by the batters was mostly responsible for the defeat. Rashid Latif offered some suggestions regarding the improvement of the team during a recent interaction with Pakpassion. He said, “Pakistan cricket is currently in the ICU. They will need a professional doctor. They need technically sound professionals to run things, both physically and financially. Trainers and many other things are required. You can see there are many problems, whether it’s on the field or off the field,” as quoted by NDTV.
During the discussion, Rashid Latif also dissected the recent performance of Babar Azam, who is currently the captain of the Pakistan white-ball teams. The former cricketer felt that Babar should step down from captaincy to put more focus on his batting. To clear his thoughts, Latif referred to Sachin Tendulkar, who had moved away from the leadership role in a bid to concentrate on his own game.
“We need to remember that he (Babar) was removed forcefully as captain. When the mind is not functioning correctly, it affects the nerves as well. You try to play hard on every ball. He should let go of the idea of being a captain and focus on freeing himself from mental pressure,” Rashid Latif explained.“The issue seems to be more about mental stress than technical performance, and it’s apparent that he is struggling to cope with a significant amount of mental pressure,” he added.
Babar Azam is currently involved in the Champions One-Day Cup where he is playing for the Mohammad Haris-led Stallions. In his last appearance in the domestic tournament, Babar showcased brilliant batting scoring an unbeaten 104 off 100 balls. Powered by his century, Stallions produced 271 in the first innings and ultimately won the match by 174 runs.
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