Pakistan stalwarts call for sacking of Babar Azam from captaincy role
Karachi (PTI): Pakistan's World Cup campaign might be standing on the brink after their shock defeat against Afghanistan and former players tore into captain Babar Azam and other players for their poor performance in the tournament.
Be it Wasim Akram, Misbah ul Haq, Ramiz Raja, Rashid Latif, Muhammad Hafeez, Aaqib Javed, Shoaib Malik, Moin Khan or Shoaib Akhtar, Babar was blamed for the run of Pakistan's defeats against India, Australia and Afghanistan.
Babar didn't help his cause either by deciding to give away a bat to Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in Chennai after the eight-wicket defeat.
But the gesture has not gone down well in the cricket circles here, adding to the cries to replace Babar as captain.
Aaqib said on TV that Shaheen Shah Afridi should be made Pakistan captain in the white ball formats in place of Babar.
"Shaheen is the best bet for the future of Pakistan cricket. Babar has failed to prove himself as an able captain in white ball formats," the former pacer said.
Aaqib who is the Director and head coach of PSL team Lahore Qalandars for which Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique play also criticised all other players except Rauf for not coming to the party against Afghanistan.
Pakistan now have to win all their remaining four games against England, South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh to stand any chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
"The fielding and body language of the players was very poor and unconvincing (against Afghanistan). They just didn't appear capable of defending 283 which is not a small total. The bowling was ordinary and the fielding levels were pathetic," Akram said.
Akram also noted that surprisingly no fitness tests had been held for Pakistan players for the last one year.
"In modern day cricket how do you expect to do well if you are not 100 percent fit? How can you take catches or stop boundaries?
"The way some of our players fielded it appeared as if they were enjoying a diet of rich dishes and food," he said.
Misbah said Babar's captaincy left much to be desired and his bowling changes and field placings were amateurish.
"He has wasted Haris Rauf by bringing him on in the power play when there are only two fielders outside the circle. Haris was hit in his first over (against Australia) and he lost all confidence.
"He should be brought on with at least a sweeper at cover and three other fielders on the leg-side deep," Misbah said.
Ironically, Misbah and Akram had played a pivotal role in convincing the PCB to make Babar captain of all formats, dumping Sarfaraz Ahmed after the 2019 World Cup.
Former Pakistan all-rounder, Razzaq accused Babar of spoiling the game of other players and noted that against Bangladesh, Shafique was batting aggressively and he changed the game once Babar came into bat.
"When Babar bats slowly it has an adverse effect on other batters who then can't play their natural game and this is affecting Pakistan's strike rate in this tournament," Razzaq said.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
