Shahid Afridi: “Babar Azam has had a long run with plenty of tournaments under his belt. It is high time for a ‘surgery’ and to give the next appointment a full opportunity”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi said time has run out for Babar Azam as limited overs captain and admitted “it is high time for a ‘surgery'”.
Azam’s future as captain has become a hotly debated topic following the men in green’s dismal performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage.
Afridi noted that the 29-year-old was given more than enough time to prove himself as an adept leader, but has fallen well short of the mark.
As a result, the former big-hitter has called for someone else to be given an opportunity to captain the team.
“Babar Azam has had a long run with plenty of tournaments under his belt. It is high time for a ‘surgery’ and to give the next appointment a full opportunity,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
In the T20 World Cup, Azam was Pakistan’s highest run-scorer with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green lost to the United States of America and India before picking up consolation wins over Canada and Ireland.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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