"Not a crime to make mistakes as long as you learn from those" - Mickey Arthur backs skipper Babar Azam despite dismal 2023 World Cup
Pakistan director of cricket Mickey Arthur has backed Babar Azam as skipper of the side and stated that he will learn from his mistakes made during the 2023 World Cup.
Coming into the tournament with high hopes of winning their second ODI World Cup, the Men in Green endured a disappointing campaign with only four wins in nine games. Babar struggled with the bat as well, averaging 40 in nine innings with no centuries and four half-centuries.
Speaking to reporters after the England loss, Arthur feels Babar is learning at every step of the way and needs to be backed.
"He's growing and we have to allow him the time to grow. And in order to do that, you make mistakes. 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," Arthur said.
Arthur further stated that he is extremely close to the Pakistan skipper, who is still learning about the tricks of the trade.
"I get behind Babar - he 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," Arthur added.
Despite starting the 2023 World Cup campaign with wins, Pakistan lost five of its last seven outings to finish fifth on the points table.
Their latest defeat came at the hands of the defending champions England, by a massive 93 runs.
"Batting-wise, we have to become a 330-350 team" - Mickey Arthur
Mickey Arthur further believes Pakistan has to evolve and start churning out 330+ scores consistently to compete and defeat the top sides in the world.
While the side enjoyed a couple of incredible high-scoring run chases against Sri Lanka and New Zealand (D/L), they did not cross 300 once batting first.
"Batting-wise, we have to become a 330-350 team. The teams that are doing that and doing that consistently are the teams that are in the semi-final. And I don't think we've done that consistently enough. We do that when Fakhar Zaman comes off and we can't just be relying on one-on-one player," said Arthur.
Arthur also felt the absence of speedster Naseem Shah due to injury proved costly due to the inability of Haris Rauf to operate with the new ball.
"The one thing we know is that Haris Rauf doesn't normally bowl with the new ball. When you lose Naseem Shah, you have to find somebody to bowl with a new ball. We've been working hard on him with a new ball, and he bowled okay in patches. But when he bowls with an older ball - that's what he's used to. It's not an excuse. Our bowling equilibrium was out of kilter because Naseem Shah provides the consistency," said Arthur.
Pakistan will next tour Australia for a three-Test series, starting in Perth on December 14.