‘Can’t please anyone…’ – Babar Azam blasts PCB chief for ‘play with T20 mindset’ statement

Pakistan faced a humiliating defeat against England in the third Test by 8 wickets as the Three Lions chased down the target of 167 on the back of Ben Duckett’s unbeaten 82. Facing criticism from all ends for their continued poor run in the longest format of the game, Babar Azam, the Pakistani skipper had to take a few hard questions from the media. 

Earlier, Ramiz Raja, the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that the Pakistani cricketers must adopt a T20 mindset for the Tests and emulate England’s strategy, which is paying off more often than not. It comes on the back of a record that Ben Stokes flaunts as the English skipper as the Three Lions have won 9 Tests out of the 10 that he has donned the captain’s hat. 

“Like England for example, I suggested to Babar that England are playing the T20 format in a five-day version, so you better pick T20 players here. It’s a forced mindset on Pakistan, which I absolutely like. I want the future generation to think of it as a T20 format, like England are playing,” Raja was quoted as saying. 

Mindset change takes time: Babar Azam

Babar, who faced the press post the conclusion of the match, was asked about Raja’s statement on Pakistani cricketers playing with the T20 mindset in the longest format of the game. Anguished by the same, Babar was quick enough to give a strong rebuttal that seemed like escalating the ongoing rift rumours between him and the PCB chief. 

“The door is not shut for anyone. There is a set plan for everything and we have it for every format. You can’t change things in a day or week. It takes time. For mindset to change, it takes time. Then, if we start playing defensively, journalists will ask why we don’t play aggressively and when we play aggressively, they ask why we don’t play the other way. There will always be questions, you can’t please everyone. Ultimately what matters is results. If results don’t come then questions will be raised no matter what we do,” Babar was quoted as saying after the conclusion of the match.