“Should leave captaincy,” former Pakistan captain claims Babar Azam can’t THINK out of the box 

Babar Azam has come under loads of criticism for his captaincy style.

“Should leave captaincy,” former Pakistan captain claims Babar Azam can’t THINK out of the box 

Babar Azam gives a team talk (Image via ESPN)

After a poor performance in the 2023 Asia Cup and losing to India in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, the Babar Azam and the Pakistan team came under a lot of fire from their fans and former players. Former captain, Shoaib Malik, believes it’s time for Babar Azam to step down as captain. 

While live on A-Sports, Shoaib Malik said he felt there has been no improvements by Babar in his captaincy skills. “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,” said Malik. Malik also added that Shaheen Afridi should be the new Pakistan captain.

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Babar Azam was appointed as ODI captain in 2020 and has captained 34 ODIs so far. He has won 24 matches in the 3 years as captain. In the 2023 Asia Cup, he lost 2 games in the Super 4 stage and failed to reach the finals. So far in the ODI World Cup, Pakistan has beaten Netherlands and Sri Lanka, but lost to India after a poor batting performance. 

Related: WATCH: Wasim Akram slams Babar Azam for asking Virat Kohli for signed jersey after humiliating World Cup loss to India

Mohammed Yousuf defends Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik says he did not understand the question 

While Shoaib Malik thinks Babar Azam should be stepping down as captain, Mohammad Yousuf says it’s too early to remove Babar as captain. Yousuf said even Imran Khan took three tries to win the World Cup, so Babar should be given time. He added that as Babar is a good player, he should continue to be Pakistan captain. 

Babar Azam can’t keep a straight face after Pakistan lose to India (Image via ESPN)

Shoaib Malik said Yousuf did not understand the question. He said it was his point of view and he had every right to answer the way he did. If he saw the telecast, understood the question and then heard his answer, there would not have been any more discussions. 

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