Pakistan captain Babar Azam may step down following the team’s underwhelming performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Due to their lower net run rate when compared to New Zealand, the Men in Green are very guaranteed to finish outside the top four.
Fans and journalists have recently criticized Babar’s poor leadership and the way it has hampered his batting. Pakistan even failed to reach the final of the 2023 Asia Cup and now faces numerous critical decisions ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
According to Geo Super, Babar Azam has sought counsel from former Pakistani cricketer and PCB chairman Ramiz Raja. The star batter was spotted speaking with Ramiz during the team’s training session at Eden Gardens ahead of their last league-stage match against England.
Babar will also consider his fathers opinion, on the matter. They plan to have important discussions once he returns home after the 2023 ODI World Cup. Initially the captain intended to make the decision while in India for the tournament. Now he has decided to announce his verdict after arriving home.
Babar had claimed that his batting performances were unaffected by his captaincy during the pre-match news conference against England. He continued by saying that, having filled the position for the previous several years, he was accustomed to managing the strain that came with it.
In all actuality, Pakistan is still in the World Cup competition. If they bat first, though, they must defeat England by 287 runs. In terms of chasing, the calculations indicate that Pakistan will need to reach the objective in a remarkably short amount of time, which is just not feasible.
Babar Azam may give up captaincy in all formats
Apart from white-ball cricket, there has been a lot of pressure on Babar Azam’s Test captaincy. Under his leadership, Pakistan failed to win a single home match in the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC), including a devastating 3-0 thrashing by England at home.
Pakistan will have a stern test following the World Cup when they travel to Australia for their first away series of the 2023-25 WTC cycle.