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Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has denied reports suggesting that captaincy has affected his individual performance. Babar also hit out at critics who had recently questioned his decisions as skipper.
Pakistan's world cup campaign is virtually over. In thei last match against England they will have to defy the odds in order to qualify for the semi-final. Babar has been criticised for some of the captaincy decisions that were taken throughout the World Cup. Babar has struggled to lead the team from the front except for his 50 against arch-rival India and 74 against Afghanistan. On the eve of their final group-stage clash against England at the iconic Eden Gardens, Babar denied report that suggested that captaincy affected his performance and said, "I have been captaining my team for the last three years and I have never felt this way. It's just because I have not performed the way I should have in the World Cup, that's why people are saying that I am under pressure. I am under no pressure. I have been doing this for the last 2.5 or 3 years. I was the one who was performing and I was the one who was the captain. I was applying the same thing." Babar went on to state that he tries to give his all for the team when he is on the field and gave a reply to the former players who have criticised his captaincy decisions. "It depends how you take such thing. Everyone has their own point of view, their own way of thinking. Everyone is saying something different. He should be like this, or like that. If someone has to give me advice, everyone has my number. It is easy to give advice on TV. If you want to give me some advice, you can message me. I don't think I was under any pressure or felt any different because of this. I try to give my best in the field during the fielding. During batting, I think about how I should make runs and make the team win," Babar added. Babar's captaincy has been under scrutiny throughout the tournament. Former Pakistan cricketers have also claimed that Babar should leave the captaincy. He was questioned about when will he make a decision regarding his captaincy or will the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) be involved in it. "About the captaincy - as I said, once we go back to Pakistan or after this match, we will see what happens. But right now, I am not focusing on this, my focus is on the next match," Babar said. (ANI)
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