Former Pakistani player has suggested that Babar Azam should consider stepping down from his role as captain to focus on enhancing his batting skills, much like Virat Kohli did.
In the wake of Pakistan’s disheartening loss to Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has suggested that Babar Azam should consider stepping down from his role as captain to focus on enhancing his batting skills, much like Virat Kohli did. Pakistan’s World Cup campaign has hit a rough patch with three consecutive defeats, including their latest loss to Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday, October 23. Afghanistan’s Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team convincingly defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets, successfully chasing down Pakistan’s total of 283 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Babar Azam appeared to struggle as Pakistan’s bowling performance fell short of expectations. The team’s lackluster fielding only added to the frustration, both for the skipper and the fans who had come to support Pakistan in Chennai. At no point did Pakistan seem to be in contention as Afghanistan’s batters displayed clinical form, making the seemingly above-par total look insufficient.
Babar Azam’s captaincy decisions failed to make an impact, particularly in managing the team’s leg-spinners, Shadab Khan and Usama Mir. His on-field emotions were evident as Pakistan suffered their first-ever ODI defeat to Afghanistan. “I said a year ago on my channel that Babar Azam is an exceptional batter. He should relinquish the captaincy, just as Virat Kohli did. Virat stepped down, and look at his performances. I’m confident his performance will improve,”
Basit Ali stated in an interview with ARY News. However, he also pointed out that some individuals on social media had misrepresented his comments, wrongly suggesting that he held negative opinions about Babar Azam or was disloyal. Notably, Virat Kohli stepped down from the T201 captaincy after the 2021 T20 World Cup and later relinquished his ODI captaincy. His decision was influenced by a period of relatively low form across formats, and Kohli has since refocused on his role as a pure batter under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
The former Indian captain has performed exceptionally well in the World Cup. registering a century and accumulating 354 runs in five matches, securing the top position in the run-scoring rankings.
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