Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has weighed in on the criticism surrounding Babar Azam's leadership in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Pakistan's disappointing performance, resulting in an early exit from the tournament, has put Azam's captaincy under scrutiny.
Pakistan's T20 World Cup Exit Sparks Debate on Babar Azam's Captaincy
Afridi acknowledges the criticism Azam faces but offers some defense. He highlights Azam's consistent batting record, even if he hasn't quite reached the level of a match-winner like Virat Kohli. Pakistan's campaign was plagued by crucial losses. Afridi specifically mentions the upset defeat to the United States and the heartbreaking loss to India, where they surrendered a winning position. These setbacks significantly impacted their chances of advancing to the Super 8 stage. With Pakistan's World Cup journey cut short, questions about Azam's captaincy are sure to continue in the coming days.
Babar Azam's Batting Under Fire
Babar Azam's performance with the bat has come under significant criticism following Pakistan's disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. He managed only 91 runs in three innings, with a strike rate around 104. This underwhelming performance is being seen by some as a major factor in Pakistan's early exit from the tournament.
Adding to the pressure, former captain Shahid Afridi expressed his concerns. While acknowledging Azam's development as a player, Afridi pointed out his lack of impact in recent World Cups. He further criticized the selection committee's decision to retain Azam as captain, highlighting the team's trophy drought over the past few years. Afridi's comments were made in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“Fellow cricket lovers on social media should criticise Babar’s captaincy but consistent players like him are rare in Pakistan cricket. Babar’s performances have been good. Yeah, indeed, he hasn’t been able to perform in the World Cup. I’ve always wished to see Babar emerge as a matchwinner as we talk about Virat Kohli. He wasn’t a matchwinner from day 1 but he has developed himself,” Afridi said.
"Babar Azam is being criticised. It happens because he’s the captain. I am an admirer of Babar (but) he’s been given 3-3.5 years as captain and there hasn’t been any eye-catching result nor there has been any improvement. The first question to the selection committee is that when he didn’t show any improvement (before), (why) he was reappointed as captain?," he further stated.
Expanding on his critique of Babar Azam's captaincy, Shahid Afridi emphasised the importance of decisive leadership. In his view, Azam hasn't shown the necessary growth in this area. Afridi didn't elaborate further in the provided excerpt, but we can infer he might discuss specific instances where Azam's captaincy decisions came under question during the T20 World Cup.
"As a player, we have never criticised Babar but only his captaincy. A leader’s decision matters a lot – it can change the outcome of a match, and a captain should be able to engage with players. So these are few things Babar has been unable to improve on".
Shahid Afridi's criticism extended beyond Babar Azam's batting performance. He also questioned the decision to reappoint him as captain. Afridi suggested that wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan might have been a better choice for the captaincy role. Afridi felt Babar Azam should have publicly supported Shaheen Afridi when he was briefly captain before the T20 World Cup. This suggests Afridi believes Azam might have undermined or not fully endorsed Shaheen's leadership.
"This question has to be asked (to the selection committee) why Babar was reappointed as captain. Mohammad Rizwan was the next best option after Babar. Rizwan has positive body language and doesn’t indulge in blame games," Afridi concluded.
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