Saleem Malik, who is a former Pakistan team skipper, has spoken in support of incumbent captain Babar Azam and against the “unnecessary criticism” against him.
Babar has been facing heavy criticism time and again regarding his captaincy skills and some cricket analysts and fans have questioned his on-field decisions as a captain.
Speaking in the 28-year-old cricketer’s support in Lahore, Malik said that Babar should be given enough time to prove his captaincy skills.
“Babar Azam is a young captain and you can’t learn the art of captaincy in one day,” said Malik, adding that “if Babar makes mistakes, we should guide him instead of doing unnecessary criticism.”
“Azam is a renowned name in Pakistan cricket and he should be given a complete chance to prove himself. This is also important in terms of making a good Pakistan team,” he added.
He also heaped praise on opener Fakhar Zaman, who smashed a third consecutive century to guide Pakistan to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second ODI of the five-match series on Saturday.
“Fakhar Zaman played really well and this is precisely the reason why I have always said that he should be a permanent member of our playing XI,” he said.
The last three matches of the ODI series, which Pakistan lead 2-0, are in Karachi on May 3, 5 and 7.
“The pitches in Rawalpindi were conducive for batting but I don’t think that the same can be said about the surface in Karachi. Spinners will play a crucial role in Karachi and I don’t think that we will see big scores,” Malik said.
The 60-year-old also hoped that Pakistan will put up a good show during this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in India.
“We are playing good cricket at the moment and I’m hopeful that we can continue that and win the World Cup,” he concluded.
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