As confident as Pakistan appeared before entering the Asia Cup, their performance has been equally abysmal. They have barely managed to reach the Super Four. However, they have suffered embarrassing defeats in both matches against India.
Moreover, Pakistan is struggling to accept these losses in such prestigious encounters.
In the wake of this failure, questions are being raised about Pakistan's strategy. The Pakistan Cricket Board seems to believe that the experiment of pruning Babar-Rizwan and building a team with young cricketers has failed. Consequently, they reportedly even wanted to bring Babar Azam back into the team.
What exactly transpired?
Reports suggest that members of the Pakistan Cricket Board have allegedly instructed to reinstate Babar Azam in the team. Apparently, after the loss to India, the Pakistani team had appealed to the organizers to include Babar Azam in the squad. However, the organizers did not entertain this request.
They informed that a player who was not in the squad before the tournament's commencement cannot be inducted midway.
The report states that after two defeats against India, Pakistan Board members wanted to send Babar to the UAE.
However, selectors have made it clear that squad changes are not permissible unless a player is ruled out due to injury.
The same report also reveals that Babar will return to the Pakistan team for the T20 series against South Africa. Whether Salman Ali Agha will remain captain will be decided based on the performance in the Asia Cup.
There's also a possibility of another experienced batter, Mohammad Rizwan, making a comeback. If Haris continues to fail repeatedly as a wicketkeeper-batsman, Rizwan might find his way back into the squad.
In other words, it has become even more evident that Pakistan's experiment with the team has failed. Their predicament has become glaringly apparent.