PAK vs CAN: "You shouldn't be doing captaincy, you are a..." - Shoaib Malik's bold message to Babar Azam
Published - 10 Jun 2024, 11:11 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:13 AM
Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has urged Babar Azam to give up captaincy and focus on his batting following Pakistan's dismal performance in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Many expected Babar Azam to redeem himself as a batsman as well as captain in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The star batter had a disastrous campaign as a captain in the ODI World Cup last year. After Pakistan failed to advance ahead of the league stage, he had stepped down as the captain and was replaced by Shaheen Afridi as the T20 captain.
However, he was reinstated as the captain earlier this year but has not really justified the decision so far. In his first series as the captain since being reinstated, Pakistan drew the five-match series against New Zealand at home. Last month, they lost a T20I against Ireland before being blanked 2-0 by England.
Shoaib Malik's advice for Babar Azam:
Babar Azam and his team's fortunes have not changed much in the ongoing T20 World Cup as well. They started their campaign with a shock loss against the USA before suffering a humiliating defeat against arch-rivals India. Chasing 120 runs against India, Pakistan ended their innings on 113 for 7 with Babar scoring only 13 runs.
With Babar not really managing to live up to the expectations as a batsman in recent times, Shoaib Malik has advised him to step down as the captain. Speaking on Ten Sports, the former allrounder said that Babar would be able to show his class with the bat only if he gets rid of the captaincy burden.
"I have been saying for a long time that you should not be doing captaincy. You are a class player, and your true class will only shine when you don't have additional responsibilities. It is best if you stay away from captaincy. I have been saying this for a long time," said Malik.
Meanwhile, Pakistan will be taking on Canada on Tuesday (June 11) in their third game of the T20 World Cup. They will have to win the game at all costs to keep their slim chances of progressing ahead of the group stage alive.
