Matthew Hayden: “I think they have potentially shot the gun a little bit early in terms of leadership capabilities. He’s still a young player, a dominant player in world cricket. So I am a little disappointed and a little shocked about the reaction”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic big-hitting Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes Pakistan “shot the gun a little bit early” when it came to removing Babar Azam as captain.
He admitted that he was “a little shocked” by the decision and felt that the 29-year-old should have been given more time to prove himself.
Azam opted to step down from the leadership role in all three formats after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
“I think they have potentially shot the gun a little bit early in terms of leadership capabilities. He’s still a young player, a dominant player in world cricket. So I am a little disappointed and a little shocked about the reaction,” Hayden told ESPNcricinfo as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
In the World Cup, Azam scored 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan started off with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they were unable to progress to the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign on a low as England smashed them by 93 runs.
Azam will now feature in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, which gets underway on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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