Mohammad Azharuddin: “The pressure of leadership overburdens him”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin believes Pakistan superstar Babar Azam is overburdened by the pressure that comes with leading his country.
Azam captains Pakistan in all three formats and has been in the line of fire lately due to a string of poor results for the national team.
They were beaten 3-0 in their Test series against England, drew 0-0 with New Zealand in their two-match Test series, and lost the ODI series that followed 2-1.
This led to speculation of the captaincy being split, which would have meant that Azam would only be in charge in one or two formats.
However, while no action has been taken so far, Azharuddin is worried about whether the responsibilities and expectations that come with the captaincy role are taking a toll on Azam.
“The pressure of leadership overburdens him,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently led the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he scored 522 runs in 11 matches, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 52.20 and a strike-rate of 145.40.
He was subsequently rested for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, which the men in green lost 2-1.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a limited overs series against New Zealand, which will start on April 14 and consist of five T20Is and five ODIs.