Babar Azam Receives King-Like Reception on Arriving in Pakistan Despite Team’s Poor Show – WATCH

ODI World Cup 2023: To everyone's surprise, Babar Azam received a king-like reception on reaching the Lahore airport recently.

Lahore: Amid all the speculation that the Pakistan cricket team would receive flak after their poor show in the ODI World Cup 2023, the scenes were different. To everyone’s surprise, Babar Azam received a king-like reception on reaching the Lahore airport recently. The Pakistan cricket team did not live up to the expectations in the marquee event as they finished fifth with four wins from nine games. They were in with a chance of making the semi-final, but a couple of losses against Afghanistan and England would hurt them. Here is a clip that is going viral which shows Babar reaching Lahore amid fan-frenzy.

Babar Azam owns the streets ❤️

When King arrived at Lahore Airport, he was warmly welcomed by the people of Lahore

Thank you Lahore ❤️#BabarAzam #babarAzam #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/p1nNebWijD

— Cricket with Anas (@CricketwithAnas) November 12, 2023

Babar didn’t hide his disappointment after a humiliating 93-run defeat to England in their last World Cup game on Saturday but hinted that he would like to lead the national team during its rebuilding phase in white-ball cricket.

“We will sit together and take stock. We’ll take positives from this and discuss mistakes. I’m keen to lead the rebuild,” Babar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Pakistan couldn’t qualify for the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup for the third consecutive time.

“Yes, very disappointed with the performance. If we had won the South Africa match, it could have been a different story. But yes, have made mistakes in bowling, batting and fielding,” Babar summed up his team’s campaign where they lost five out of nine games.

Babar admitted that his spinners — Mohammed Nawaz and Shadab Khan — not taking wickets in middle overs became crucial.

“We conceded a few too many runs. We bowled a few loose deliveries towards the end. And our spinners’ aren’t taking wickets, which doesn’t help. That has a big effect because you need to take wickets in the middle overs.”

Pakistan finished fifth in 10 team table leading to a lot of criticism from former players, who has sought a change in leadership.

“Babar has already spoken to his teammates, and majority of them advised him not to step down himself. He will come out with a clear line of action once he returns home with the team after failing to make the semi-finals of the World Cup in India. But, he will not step down himself,” a PCB source told PTI.