Could have been different if Shaheen Afridi not injured, says Babar Azam

Pakistan may have lost the T20 World Cup final to England by five wickets, but captain Babar Azam is proud of his team's run in the tournament

Azam told the media after the match on Sunday that it was the injury to pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi during the England innings that made the job easier for Jos Buttler's men.

Afridi, who knocked over the in-form Alex Hales in his initial two-over spell of 13-1, hurt his right knee in the 13th over of the England innings when taking a catch at long off to dismiss Harry Brook.


He later returned to the field after getting treatment but could bowl only one delivery in the 16th over before leaving the field at a crucial stage of the match.

Iftikhar Ahmed had to complete that over, and his friendly off-breaks were thrashed for 13 runs - including a six and a four - by the England batters to ease the pressure

"Had Shaheen been there, it could have been different," Azam said.

Azam also felt that Pakistan fell at least 20 runs short of a winning total because they were sluggish in the middle overs.

"We were going steady in the first 11 overs, but we lost momentum after losing wickets back to back, he said.

Babar was happy with how Pakistan returned from the brink of elimination in the Group clashes to reach the final.

On the morning of the Sunday a week before the final, Pakistan was not even in contention for the semifinals, but then South Africa lost to Netherlands and opened up an opportunity for Azam's team.

"It's always sad to reach the final and not win. We had the same result in the Asia Cup. But we are proud we made the final," the Pak skipper said.