Shoaib Malik, a former captain of Pakistan, believes that Babar Azam, the current captain, should step down since he doesn’t think creatively. For the greater good of the Men in Green, the 41-year-old thinks the batter from Lahore should play like a genuine batter. The response came after Pakistan lost by seven wickets to India in the 2023 World Cup match on October 14.
Malik stated to A-Sports recently:
“I gave an opinion in the past as well that Babar Azam should leave captaincy. This is my personal opinion. Babar does not think out of the box as a captain. He is doing captaincy, but the improvement is not coming. He can do wonders for Pakistan as a player.”
Shoaib Malik
Babar, the current No. 1 hitter in the world, has led his team to a record 2115 runs in 37 one-day internationals at an average of 62.21, with eight hundreds and 14 half-centuries. The right-handed batter has a career total of 3359 runs scored in 72 innings at a 54.1 average, including 11 hundreds and 15 fifties.
Babar has captained Pakistan to 24 victories in 37 games, with a win percentage of 68.05. of all Pakistani captains, the highest victory percentage.
Mohammad Yusuf Supports Babar Azam’s Captaincy in World Cup
During the 2023 World Cup, former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Yusuf supported Babar Azam as captain. The 49-year-old emphasized that before winning the 1992 World Cup, Imran Khan lost the 1983 and 1987 World Cups, making him Pakistan’s most successful captain in terms of victories. As reported by Samaa TV, he stated:
“During the World Cup, I don’t think anybody should talk about this. Secondly, Imran Khan captained in 1983 and 1987 and lost both times before winning on his third attempt in 1992.”
“Any good player should be allowed to continue as a captain for a long time. He is the captain because he has the ability. He did not become the captain because he is related to the PCB chairman. He is a genuine skipper.”
Mohammad Yusuf
On October 20, in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Babar Azam and company will play their upcoming 2023 World Cup match against Australia. Out of the first three games, they have won two, including victories over Sri Lanka and the Netherlands by 81 runs and six wickets, respectively.