Watch: Did Babar Azam Invoke 'Chak De India' Spirit To Pump Up Pakistan Side?
Pakistan cricket team climbed of the top of ODI rankings after winning their three-match series against Afghanistan.
Pakistan cricket team climbed of the top of ODI rankings after winning their three-match series against Afghanistan 3-0. The victory came at a brilliant time for the side as they geared up for the Asia Cup 2023 where they will face long-time rivals India. Following Pakistan's win over Afghanistan in the third T20I encounter, Babar gave a speech to the team about unity and taking responsibility. In a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), Babar could be seen motivating his teammates and he told them that the success for the side came because of all of their hard work and the fact that their hearts were pure.
“Today we are No. 1 just because of our hard work. We went through a lot of ups and downs but the unity of this team is intact. ‘Har bande ka dil saaf hai'(Every guy's heart is pure). No one is thinking like, ‘He did this, why didn't I?'. Everyone is happy with everyone else's performance and this should stay like this,” Babar said.
“Our bowling will win us the match on some days, on others, our batting will win it. We won't say ‘this department is doing this, that department isn't'. We'll only talk like a team. ‘Main, mera… Ye Nahi Hoga. Hum… ye team hum hain, koi individual nahi hai [There will be no ‘I' but only ‘we'],” he added.
In the video, Babar looked to further inspire his team that had just claimed the No. 1 spot in ICC ODI Rankings, having beaten Afghanistan 3-0 in the series.
The speech had shades of Shah Rukh Khan's speech from the 2007 Bollywood film 'Chak De India' where he focused on team unity. In the dialogues, Shah Rukh Khan, who played the character of the coach of the Indian women's hockey team, asked players to play for the country and not themselves.
Pakistan Cricket Team
Babar Azam