‘It’s not a crime to make mistakes…’: Mickey Arthur backs Pakistan captain Babar Azam | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of Pakistan’s World Cup campaign concluding with a 93-run defeat against England, team director Mickey Arthur has come to the defence of skipper Babar Azam. Speculations had been circulating that Babar might step down from the captaincy after the tournament, fueled by criticism from former Pakistan players regarding his leadership decisions.
Addressing the media in the post-match press conference, Arthur expressed his support for Babar, emphasising the learning curve that comes with captaincy.Despite criticism and rumours surrounding Babar’s potential resignation, Arthur asserted that making mistakes is part of the process.

“We were a real tight-knit unit. I get behind Babar. Babar is very, very close to me. He’s a young guy that needs to be taken on the journey with. He needs to be shown the ropes. He’s still learning all the time,” said Arthur.

“It’s not a crime to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes, and as a group, we’ve made a lot of mistakes this World Cup, but if this group grows and learns from it, we’ve got the core of a very, very good side.”

Amidst criticism directed at the team’s performance and calls for Babar’s resignation, Arthur acknowledged the external noise but emphasised the importance of shielding the players from it. He highlighted the need for a stable environment with consistent messaging to foster player growth.

“There’s always outside noise; whatever World Cup you’re at, there’s outside noise. The key for us as leaders within that group is to make sure that we make the players deaf to that outside noise,” Arthur explained.
“Our messaging has to be consistent, and our environment has to be consistent and stable, because only then do you get players that grow. If the environment is unstable, what you find is you get players that ultimately, and rightly so, end up playing for themselves because they’re playing for the next selection.”
Acknowledging the team’s inconsistent performance throughout the tournament, Arthur admitted that they deserved to finish in the fifth spot. Despite the challenges faced, he emphasised the need for improvement and learning from the experiences of the World Cup.

“Inconsistency, unfortunately, doesn’t breed success. But that is no excuse at all. The fact is, we haven’t played well enough. We finished fifth, and fifth is where we deserve to finish with the cricket that we’ve played over the last six weeks,” Arthur concluded.
(With inputs from ANI)