PAK vs NZ: 'We Want Overnight Results..'- Babar Azam Should Quit Pakistan Captaincy, Reckons Shoaib Malik
Published - 24 Apr 2023, 02:21 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
Veteran Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik suggests that Pakistan National Cricket Team captain Babar Azam should give up the captaincy and focus on his batting.
Malik, who last took to the field for the national side in November 2021, played under Babar’s captaincy in that year’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan reached the semi-finals of that tournament, before being kick-out by eventual winners Australia.
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Commenting on how important Babar Azam is to Pakistan cricket as a batter, Malik suggested that those who guide him should ask him to give up captaincy.
Also read: PAK vs NZ: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Lauds National Team Captain Babar Azam
“If I was in Babar’s place, or those people who guide him, they should tell him that Babar should quit captaincy. And focus just as a player,” he said on Geo Sports.
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The all-rounder did go on to say that Babar Azam could be a good captain one day, but that will take a long time. He then highlighted that the culture of cricket in Pakistan demands immediate results, saying –
“I feel for him to improve as a leader, it will take a lot of time. But we are in such a culture, where we want overnight results. Whoever is guiding him, please guide him to quit captaincy. He will break all sorts of records and the pressure will be only on his own cricket
Babar Azam is currently captaining his national team for a 5 T20I series against New Zealand. The Men in Green lead the series by 2-1 after four matches, with the fifth taking place o April 24.
Mixing individual form and leadership is unfair for Babar Azam, claims Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik opines that the mixing of personal form and leadership is unfair to star batter Babar Azam.
He suggests that today’s cricket is more of a team game than before. So judging the captain’s performance when the team wins or losses should be kept completely different from his own performance.
“I will say one thing. We are mixing his individual batting performance and leadership. We shouldn’t do that. Both are separate. But when we judge him when team loses, and his performances are also dragged. We shouldn’t do that. It’s a team game. In the past, one player could win the match but the game has changed now. It needs teamwork,” Malik said.
Babar Azam has been announced as the captain of the Pakistan National Cricket Team for all three formats until the ICC Cricket World Cup this year. His legacy and future as a captain will be on the line in that tournament.
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