In his harsh criticism for the captain of Pakistan team Babar Azam and other team members former captain Younis Khan expressed his disappointment. Off late, Babar has been under attack for his batting and leadership. He has not got even one fifty in sixteen test innings which made some ex-players trash him completely for this performance. Younis is yet again following the lane of talking bad about Babar and other best players. He said that instead of performing they just speak.
“Babar aur baki top players agar khelain tu results sabko dikhain gay. Humare players khelte kam, bolte zyada hai” is what Younis told Cricket Pakistan during an event
Additionally, he suggested that Babar could learn from a certain Virat Kohli who, after realizing that he could do better without being captain resigned as such in order to concentrate more on his batting career.
Younis indicated that “just take a look at Virat Kohli; he left captaincy voluntarily but now he’s smashing records across the globe”, adding it simply means “playing for your country should always be your priority if you have any strength left then play for yourself”.
The only advice I can give to Babar is to concentrate on his cricket. He needs to improve his performance. Babar Azam was made captain because he was the best player then. I was there when they decided who should lead the team; it had to be the best player.
Cricket is the only thing you should be thinking about. There are very high hopes so you have to show your abilities everywhere. On cricket players should spend more time and use social media wisely, however their true answers must come through performance with bat and ball. “He (Babar) has to focus on his physical condition and work ethics because such chances do not come often,” he further stated.
Pakistan’s white-ball and red-ball head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have warned against changing the captains in haste after recent poor performances across formats as per Pakistan Times. After Pakistan played in World Cup round robin stage in India in 2023 Babar Azam was dismissed from White Ball captaincy while Shaheen Shah Afridi succeeded him but was unseated following one bad series loss against India. Similarly, after Babar’s resignation, Shan Masood became Captain in Tests but following 0-2 Test series defeat against Bangladesh there are demands for his immediate removal as well.
However, a PCB source informed PTI that the recent media speculations regarding the removal of Masood and Babar are mere kite flying.
According to him: “There has been no talk of changing the captains as it is up to the two coaches and selectors assigned by PCB chairperson Mohsin Naqvi to make the decision.”
