Pakistan’s Babar Azam all set to relinquish captaincy in white-ball format

According to a report by Geo Super, Azam may resign from the leadership roles in ODIs and T20Is after the World Cup in India. The report added that he has been seeking guidance from former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and those close to him on his future.

Earlier, on the eve of the England game, he was spotted having a lengthy discussion with Raja at the Eden Gardens. Though he may take the final call after returning to Pakistan post touring Australia in mid-December for a three-match red-ball contest.

ALSO READ: Watch: Wasim Akram trolls Babar Azam’s team when asked how Pakistan can reach semi-finals

Captaincy under scanner:

It is not the World Cup tournament where Babar’s captaincy has been under scanner. Failing to book a berth at the Asia Cup final in September led veterans and experts to question his ability to take on-field calls, reported Hindustan Times.

Apart from this, a report of a rift in the dressing room also surfaced with the Pakistan team divided in two halves, the other being led by Shaheen Afridi.

ALSO READ: ICC World Cup: ‘TV pe baith ke bolna easy hai,’ Babar Azam’s sharp reply to a question on Virat Kohli

World Cup experience:

In 8 league matches, Pakistan managed to win 4 and lost 4. They have total points of 8 and a net run rate of (+)0.036 and are in the fifth position.

Currently, they are playing with England, and for Babar Azam’s Pakistan, even though winning against England is not only vital they had to do the impossible. But with defending champions England choosing to bat, Pakistan’s hopes for the 2023 World Cup are washed away.

ALSO READ: World Cup 2023: Virendra Sehwag lambasts Pakistani fans, ex-cricketers on social media, says ‘Sahi mauke par..’

Though Pakistan did bounce back after a poor performance in the tournament, they beat Bangladesh and New Zealand. But, their shot at making the semifinal with a game in hand is nothing less than an improbable task.

Babar handling criticism:

Addressing the criticism ahead of Pakistan’s final league game against England in Kolkata on Saturday, Babar had said, as HT quoted, “Everyone has their point of view, their way of thinking. Everyone is saying something different. He should be like this, or like that. If someone has to give me advice, everyone has my number. It is easy to give advice on TV. If you want to give me some advice, you can message me.”

Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world ???? Click here to know more.

Updated: 11 Nov 2023, 05:08 PM IST