ICC World Cup 2023: Babar Azam praises Indian hospitality, says ‘got lots of love, support’

Pakistan's World Cup campaign ended with a 93-run defeat at the hands of reigning champions England on Saturday. The Babar Azam-led side hadn't been at their best this World Cup, losing to much lower-ranked sides in the ICC ODI rankings, such as Afghanistan, in the league stages.

Aside from their struggles in the ODI World Cup, the Men in Green's stay in India was marred by controversy. First, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur complained that Dil Dil Pakistan did not play enough during the match against hosts India in Ahmedabad on 14 October, a match which India won comfortably. Arthur later claimed that the security arrangements for the Pakistan team were "stifling" and tough to deal with.

However, at the end of their stay in India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam was happy with the love and support his team received in the host country.

The Pakistani skipper said, "To be honest - first I got a lot of love from India, a lot of support. Not only me, the entire team. Of course, I was not able to get a good finish. My goal was to get a good finish in the batting. I didn't have a goal to score 50 or 100. The main thing was to make the win the team. The performance that helps the team, not my individual performance. I played slow, I played fast, depending on the situation. I play according to the situation and according to what my team need,"

‘Not a crime to make mistakes’:

"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. We know he's a very, very fine batsman. He learns every day with his captaincy. He's growing, and we have to allow him the time to go. And in order to do that, you make mistakes. Everybody, 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,"