The scrutiny of the Pakistan cricket team is on after yet another forgettable display at an ICC event. For the second successive tournament, under the leadership of Babar Azam, Pakistan could not do justice to their billing. In the ODI World Cup 2023, Pakistan could not qualify for the semi-final while in the T20 World Cup 2024, the side could not progress ahead from the group stage. After the ODI World Cup 2023, Babar Azam lost his captaincy and Shaheen Afridi was given the reins. But after only one series, he was sacked and Babar was reinstated.
After Pakistan’s latest disaster, question marks are being raised on Babar Azam’s captaincy.
“Who made Babar Azam the captain in the first place? Who was the Einstein by the way? I need to know that guy. Does he qualify for this job? Does he even know a thing or two about captaincy? I’ve been saying that Babar Azam is not a captain material,” Shoaib Akhtar, former Pakistan pacer, said on Butt Sports TV.
“What’s going to happen to Babar now? He is now going to come down at number 4. He has to finish the games. He has to win the games, if he doesn’t, he won’t be able to keep his place in T20I. I am telling you right now. He won’t be able to find his place in ODIs if he can’t finish. The finisher Babar has to come out again. That’s when the character comes out. He needs to get in that kind of a position. I am bluntly telling this to Babar, you need to remain a superstar. Get to know how to finish games.”
Shoaib Akhtar is taking dig at Imran Khan saying who was Einstein who recommended Babar as captain. Shoaib Akhtar adds that Babar isn’t a captain material and he won’t be able to keep his place in white ball setup if asked to bat at 4 and finish games. pic.twitter.com/2vNCpF0oLB
— Usama Zafar (@Usama7) June 22, 2024
Incidentally, former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who is also the country’s former prime minister, had earlier said that that he recommended Babar’s name for captaincy.
“I only watched him [Babar] play twice and immediately asked the head of the cricket board, you must make him the captain because he is genuinely world-class. He is exceptional and I haven’t seen a player with such versatility and correct technique, such stroke play and temperament; he could go anywhere from here. Babar as the captain makes a lot of sense because you want your captain to be world-class so that he commands respect,” Imran told Piers Morgan in 2022.
Topics mentioned in this article
Source Agencies
