Asia Cup 2023: Inzamam-ul-Haq Opens Up On Babar Azam's Future As Captain, Says '...If He Plays In All Three Formats'

Former Pakistan player and 1992 World Cup winner, Inzamam-ul-Haq spoke on Babar Azam’s sure as a captain of Pakistan and said that Azam should take his players forward.

The 53-year-old has recently retained his post as the chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team and has already announced the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.

While speaking in a press conference before the start of the three-game ODI series between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq praised Babar Azam and said that he is doing a good job as a captain and also mentioned that a lot of captaincy changes can affect a squad.

Inzamam further added that during his first stint as the chief selector, Sarfaraz Khan was made the skipper in all three formats since he prefers seeing one captain in all three formats.

“See, lot of changes in captaincy is not good. I think Babar is doing great captaincy, and when I was chief selector before, Sarfaraz Ahmed was not captain of all three formats, but he became captain of all three formats later. So, I feel, there should be one captain of all three formats, if he plays in all three formats. So, he should know how he has to take his players forward. But, this captaincy doesn’t come under my domain,” Inzamam-ul-Haq said on Babar Azam’s captaincy.

While speaking on Pakistan’s recent squad for Asia Cup and Afghanistan ODIs, the former player said that the team has been selected by keeping the upcoming in mind and further hoped that the team can bring the trophy home.

“We have selected players with the focus also on the World Cup and hope that the team brings laurels to the country,” added Inzamam.

Babar Azam to lead Pakistan in Asia Cup and Afghanistan ODIs, here’s the full squad

Openers: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq.

Middle-order: Babar Azam (Captain), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, and Saud Shakeel (only for Afghanistan series).

Wicketkeepers: Mohammad Rizwan, and Mohammad Haris.

Spinners: Shadab Khan (Vice-Captain), Mohammad Nawaz, and Usama Mir.

Pace all-rounder: Faheem Ashraf.

Pacers: Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi.

Asia Cup to start on Wednesday (August 30), and Pakistan will start the tournament against Nepal at Multan International Cricket Stadium in Multan.