Mohammad Asif Recommends Babar Azam's Sacking, Picks New Pakistan Captain

Former Pakistan Pacer, Mohammad Asif has asked Babar Azam to step down from captaincy in all formats. Asif has named opener Abdullah Shafique as the best choice for captaining the Pakistan national cricket team. Abdullah Shafique is relatively new to the international circuit having played only 32 matches for Pakistan across all formats.

Mohammad Asif, while speaking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, expressed his opinion about Abdullah Shafique. The opener has shown great promise, and by further working hard on his shot selection, he could be very successful as a captain for a longer time- period in Pakistan.

Mohammad Asif was reluctant to the idea of making Sarfaraz Ahmed the captain for the upcoming test series against Australia. He said that there is no need to take reverse gears and Pakistan can think about the future from here on. According to him, Shafique is the only youngster who is capable of a leadership role.

Babar Azam Is Thinking Of Leaving White-Ball Captaincy

It is noteworthy that Babar Azam is reportedly thinking of stepping down from the captaincy role in white-ball cricket. Babar has sought advice and guidance on his future career, engaging in discussions with former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and close associates. When Ramiz Raja was asked about his conversation with Babar Azam about his captaincy, Ramiz refused to answer stating it was a private conversation and he did not wish to make it public.

Under Babar Azam’s captaincy, Pakistan reached the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup. However, Pakistan’s ODI performance this year in the Asia Cup and now in the World Cup has raised a lot of questions about Babar’s captaincy. Pakistan lost four consecutive matches in a World Cup campaign for the first time in their history.

Pakistan is virtually out of the World Cup as they will bat second in their last league match against England. In order to reach the semi-finals, Pakistan will have to chase the target set by England in 2.4 overs which is practically impossible. Therefore, Babar Azam and the team will pack their bags and depart for Pakistan saying goodbye to a forgettable ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign.