Younis Khan picks Babar Azam's replacement as Pakistan's white-ball captain
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Legendary cricketer Younis Khan has named two players who can replace Babar Azam as Pakistan's captain in white-ball cricket. Younis feels that Mohammad Rizwan or Fakhar Zaman should be considered for this role.
Recently, Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan's captain from white-ball formats to focus more on his batting. Babar's decision wasn't a surprise as Pakistan had been performing poorly under his captaincy in the last few months.
There was already pressure on the star Pakistan batter to step down from the role and he finally resigned. This is the second time within a year that Babar Azam has resigned as Pakistan's captain. Before this, he had also stepped down from the role after the ODI World Cup 2023, in which Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals.
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Younis Khan names the replacements for Babar Azam as Pakistan's white-ball captain
Younis Khan was asked about Babar Azam's resignation during an event in Australia where he received an honor at the iconic Adelaide Oval. He received an official South Australia Redbacks cap from Mark Cosgrove, who is the High-Performance coach for the South Australian Cricket Association.
During the event, Younis Khan reckoned that it is a good decision for Babar Azam to step down from captaincy as it will allow him to concentrate more on his batting now. He named Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman as the players who can replace Babar in this role.
"Stepping away from the captaincy will be beneficial for Babar Azam. In our culture, we often make the biggest player the captain, which I believe is a mistake. Either Mohammad Rizwan or Fakhar Zaman should be considered for the role," Younis said to the reporters on the ground.
Younis Khan on Jason Gillespie as Pakistan coach
The former Pakistan batter also spoke about Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's head coach in Test cricket. He claimed that Gillespie is working hard to improve the Pakistan team but the selection process needs to improve.
“I have played cricket with Jason Gillespie; he is working hard to improve the Pakistan team. However, there needs to be better decision-making when it comes to selection," Younis added.
Jason Gillespie is a well-known name in South Australian cricket and is a local player in this part of the world. He has played a lot of cricket at the Adelaide Oval during his playing days.
Pakistan's white-ball tour of Australia
Pakistan will tour Australia for an ODI and a T20I series against the home team in November this year. Younis hopes that Pakistan performs well on this tour but admitted that they have a no. of issues in the team selection that need to be resolved quickly.
"I hope the Pakistan men's cricket team performs well in Australia. The current squad includes young players, and there are certainly some issues with team selection that need to be addressed," he reckoned.
Pakistan's tour of Australia will begin from November 4. Both Australia and Pakistan will play a three-match ODI series first, which will be followed by a three-match T20I series. Adelaide Oval will host the 2nd ODI of this series. The tour will end on November 18 in Hobart.
Pakistan are yet to appoint a new captain in white-ball formats. A decision is expected soon with Mohammad Rizwan one of the biggest contenders for the role. Rizwan has been a consistent performer in the team and has a good record leading his side in the PSL as well.
