Mohammad Yousuf: “No one is born [a] captain. Every captain learns on the ground. Babar Azam did [bring] improvements in his captaincy”
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Pakistan selector Mohammad Yousuf has praised Babar Azam, saying he has seen an improvement in the 29-year-old’s captaincy skills.
Azam used to captain the men in green in all three formats before stepping down from the leadership role in November 2023.
However, just four months later, he returned as Pakistan’s limited overs skipper.
There have been questions about Azam’s captaincy capabilities, but Yousuf reiterated that he has noticed the Lahore-born batsman is getting better at leading the team.
“No one is born [a] captain. Every captain learns on the ground. Babar Azam did [bring] improvements in his captaincy,” the legendary cricketer was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and accumulated 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.
He subsequently went on to score 132 runs in three T20Is against Ireland, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31.
Pakistan are now playing a four-match T20I series against England, which is tied at 0-0 after the first game was washed out.
Following this, the men in green will take part in the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
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