Loud cheers and “Babaaar, Babaaar” chants greeted Babar Azam as the Pakistan captain was about to board the team bus following Monday’s training session at the Eden.
His teammate and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan did not mind waiting for a minute or two and obliging a group of fans assembled at the ‘B’ block of the venue for a groupfie.
Irrespective of how they perform, the craze for Pakistan when they are here in the city ceases to lessen. It won’t be too surprising if Pakistan get a fair share of support from the Eden stands during their must-win clash against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
For instance, Zain Jeewanjee, a 68-year-old San Francisco-based businessman of Pakistani-origin, who has not missed any of the India-Pakistan World Cup clashes
since 2003, will “surely be at the ground to root for Babar and Co.”
Mohammad Rizwan on the sidelines of Pakistan's practice session at the Eden on Monday. Sayak Banerjee
Owing to the team’s spate of results so far in their World Cup campaign, neither Babar nor Rizwan nor the rest of their teammates are expected to be in the best frame of mind. But given the ambience and the much-friendlier environment that Pakistan have come across since their arrival in Calcutta on Saturday, they do appear to be in a good mental space.
That’s really crucial for Pakistan going into Tuesday’s game. For, this is their last opportunity to keep their slim hopes of making the last-four stage alive.
Moreover, if they win, they will not just stay alive in the Cup, but they can also keep off-the-field matters — like Inzamam-ul Haq stepping down from the chief selector’s post over conflict of interest allegations — and other distractions away. Temporarily, at least.
Bangladesh captain Shakib-Al Hasan at practice on Monday. Sanat Kumar Sinha
Besides, it was learnt that the central contract with most of the cricketers of the current squad has been finalised, which should come in as some kind of an assurance for the team.
The Eden pitch, likely to aid quicks with a bit of extra bounce and movement, also seems to have pleased Babar and Pakistan’s pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi in particular. The left-arm quick, in spite of all his credentials, hasn’t quite found the going to be easy on his maiden visit to India. A few decent patches aside, bowling on Indian tracks has been a real struggle so far for Shaheen.
Going back to Babar, his failure to convert starts and get a big hundred has not just made matters tougher for him, but has also hurt Pakistan badly. Against this Bangladeshi unit that got thrashed by Associate side Netherlands the other night, this certainly is Babar’s best opportunity to score a big one and regain some rhythm before taking on New Zealand and England.
No wonder the Pakistan skipper batted for quite some time at nets on Monday, facing spinners mostly. Perhaps he too knows that Tuesday will be his best chance to get some momentum and tempo back.
For the Bangladeshis, finishing among the top seven to secure a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy appears to be their only target at the moment. There’s nothing else they can actually target after one forgetful performance after another.
Inzamam steps down
Lahore: Inzamam-ul-Haq on Monday resigned as chairman of Pakistan’s national selection committee after the cricket Board initiated an inquiry to probe if his association with a company that manages a number of players pertains to conflict of interest.
The PCB has formed a five-member committee to probe Inzamam’s role in Yazoo International, where he shares the same agent as
captain Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.
Inzamam has, however, maintained that his association with agent and partner Talha Rehmani has never affected or compromised his decision-making as a selector. “I select the Pakistan team and I don’t want questions to be raised because of my role in this company,” he said.
PTI
