Basit Ali: “What captaincy has Babar Azam done? Not even in this tournament, but from the World Cup 2023”
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Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has questioned whether Babar Azam is qualified to lead the national team in limited overs cricket, asking what has he even done.
Azam’s future as skipper remains unclear, especially after the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the men in green were knocked out in the group stage.
Even though the 29-year-old was Pakistan’s top run-scorer in the tournament with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66, Basit doesn’t believe he can continue in his current role as white-ball captain.
“What captaincy has Babar Azam done? Not even in this tournament, but from the World Cup 2023. When you gave Mohammad Nawaz the last over in Melbourne against India, didn’t that open your eyes? What will a person feel after being removed from the captaincy after just five matches? We feel bad even when our chairs get changed on a TV show. Imagine how he would feel,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the T20 World Cup, Pakistan 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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