Babar Azam's mind is not functioning correctly claims Pakistan legend; asks him to leave captaincy

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif has opened up about star batter Babar Azam's struggles with the bat across three formats in recent times.

Rashid Latif highlighted that the pressure of captaincy might be affecting Babar Azam's batting performance and taking a toll on his mental health.

Babar stepped down from his captaincy role after the 2023 ODI World Cup. The team management appointed Shan Masood as Test captain and Shaheen Afridi as T20I captain.

However, Babar was reinstated as T20I captain and also took over the ODI captaincy before the T20 World Cup 2024.

The Men in Green had a disastrous campaign during the T20 World Cup. They faced an unexpected defeat to the USA in their opening match and then lost to India.

The team was eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two matches and did not advance to the Super Eights.

Babar Azam Was Removed Forcefully As Captain - Rashid Latif

In a recent interview, Rashid Latif said that Babar Azam was removed forcefully as captain, adding that it could have had an impact on his mental state.

Rashid Latif advised Babar to step away from captaincy and focus on batting performance. He added that the issues seem to be more about psychological pressure rather than technical skills.

"He should let go of the idea of being a captain and focus on freeing himself from mental pressure. The issue seems to be more about mental stress than technical performance, and it's apparent that he is struggling to cope with a significant amount of mental pressure," he added.

Rashid Latif "now is the right time for Babar Azam to move away from captaincy for the betterment of his career" #Cricket pic.twitter.com/dlmViMQYWN

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 16, 2024

The 29-year-old last represented Pakistan during the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home.

The right-handed batter struggled to score a half-century in four innings during the series. He amassed just 64 runs across four innings. Notably, Pakistan lost the series 0-2 against Bangladesh.

Babar is currently representing the Stallions in the ongoing Champions One-Day Cup. He scored 76 off 79 deliveries with eight boundaries during their opening match of the tournament.

He is the sixth highest run-scorer in the tournament with 121 runs in two matches at an average of 60.50.

He's Got Outstanding Batting Potential - Dinesh Karthik

Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik recently defended Babar Azam amidst criticism. Karthik acknowledged that Babar has exceptional skills but added that the pressure of captaincy might be affecting his performance.

"Babar Azam as a player, nobody can doubt his quality. He's got outstanding batting potential, though I feel he's under a lot of pressure as a skipper. That's something that they need to rethink about," Karthik said on Cricbuzz's HeyCB with DK show.

Also read: Duleep Trophy 2024: Watch: Sanju Samson unleashes explosive T20 batting with boundary rampage