Aaqib Javed: “The entire conversation regarding Babar Azam’s captaincy was wrong in the first place. No one can be the ODI captain except for Babar Azam”
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Aaqib Javed, the former fast bowler, said Babar Azam is the only man who can captain Pakistan in ODIs.
He noted that all the rumours and speculation about the 28-year-old potentially being replaced “was wrong in the first place” and noted that there are no other eligible candidates for the job.
A lot of criticism had been directed towards Azam after Pakistan’s dismal home season, where they failed to get the results expected of them.
However, Aaqib insisted that the Lahore-born batsman is the right man for the role and expects him to continue leading the men in green heading into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
“The entire conversation regarding Babar Azam’s captaincy was wrong in the first place. No one can be the ODI captain except for Babar Azam,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where he scored 76 runs at an average of 25.33.
Despite Azam not having much of an impact, the men in green still secured a 2-0 series win.
Pakistan will now face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series, which will be held in Sri Lanka from August 22 to 26.
They will then play in the Asia Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Squad for Afghanistan ODI Series and 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel (Afghanistan series only), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr