Cricket World Cup: File image of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam© AFP
Babar Azam and Pakistan cricket team are facing the heat after a below par Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign. The Pakistan cricket team was deemed a pre-tournament favourite but they could not pass the stern test. They even lost to Afghanistan, who are rather new to international cricket. Ultimately, the Babar Azam-led side finished fifth and could not qualify for the Cricket World Cup semi-finals. After the Cricket World Cup, there have been calls to dismiss Babar Azam as the Pakistan cricket team.
Former Pakistan cricket team stars have pointed out that Babar Azam has got a long rope with captaincy and has not delivered. Ex-Pakistan cricket team fast bowler Aaqib Javed has also joined that list. He even went a step further to point out that, like Virat Kohli – who could not win an ICC trophy as Indian cricket team captain – Babar Azam too is a good batter but not a great captain.
“Captains can’t be made. Either you are a captain or you are not. Virat Kohli became the captain. He was given the opportunity. After 2019 Word Cup he was told ‘Thank you very much. You might be a superstar, but ghar jao‘. They changed the captain and brought in Rohit Sharma,” Aaqib Javed said on Suno News.
“Why is Rohit Sharma such a good captain? In IPL, he led the team to five titles. But Virat Kohli did not do anything in the IPL or the World Cup. Now, compare it with Babar Azam. He did nto win anything as captain in Pakistan Super League. People say he is a good captain, but where did he show his good captaincy?
“Sachin Tendulkar was a superstar batter but he was not a good captain. Babar is a good batter, but he is not a good captain. Sarfaraz Ahmed won you the Champions Trophy because he was a good captain. He won you the U-19 World Cup. You captain tells you at every stage that he is a captain. At what stage did Babar Azam show he is a good captain?”
Recently, Pakistan cricket team pace great Wasim Akram stressed on the fact that the entire team is responsible for Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup debacle and not just Babar.
“Babar Azam is not the only one playing the match. Yes he has made mistakes while captaining the side, but he is not the only one that should be blamed. It is the fault of the entire system and only Babar Azam should not be made a scapegoat out of this. Whatever has happened in the past year is the fault of the system,” Wasim Akram said on A Sports.
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