Fans criticized Pakistani skipper Babar Azam for his decision to step down as the team’s white-ball captain. Late on Tuesday night, October 1, Babar announced his choice to his followers on Twitter.
Babar expressed his desire to put his performance first and ignore the extra work that comes with being captain. On social media, several cricket fans made fun of Babar by pointing out that he had already quit twice as Pakistan’s captain and had never won an ICC title.
The past 1.5 years have been turbulent for Babar Azam. Pakistan lost both the ODI and T20 World Cups in their group rounds while he was captain. In all three of the game’s formats, Babar’s performance plummeted, and the batsman came under fire for his T20 tactics.
Babar Azam steps down as captain
Pakistani cricket supporters ridiculed Babar for his choice and blamed him for his dismal results in ICC competitions. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, Babar led Pakistan to the semifinals, and in the 2022 version of the competition, he came in second. However, Pakistani cricket has been on a downward spiral both at home and away since finishing in second place in 2022.
AFTER BABAR AZAM, WHO?
There aren’t many choices available to Pakistan. They don’t have enough time either, as the T20Is begin on November 14 and the ODI series begins in Australia on November 4. Pakistan may consider Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan among the present group to lead the national squad in the shorter formats.
Following his taste of success with the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Shaheen took Babar’s place as the T20I captain last year. But Shaheen was replaced from the team as captain following their lone series loss to New Zealand. At that moment, Babar was called back to assume command.
In the PSL 2024, Shadab Khan led Islamabad United to victory. He also assisted the Panthers in their Champions Cup victory at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. He has, however, experienced ups and downs as he has battled to maintain his spot in the national team since the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Although Rizwan captained Pakistan in the two Test matches in New Zealand in 2020–21, he has not led his country in ODIs or T20Is. Rizwan has also performed well for Multan Sultans in the PSL. Now that the Australia tour is almost here, Rizwan appears to be the best person to take over for Babar.
