Shoaib Malik: “As for his captaincy, my firm stance is that he should play only as a player. That’s my opinion. When he plays as a player, he can do wonders for the team. But in my opinion, he should stay away from leadership”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has urged Babar Azam to “stay away” from the captaincy if he loses his role as limited overs skipper.
Azam’s future as captain is the subject of much speculation, especially after the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the men in green were dumped out in the group stage.
Malik noted that he firmly believes the 29-year-old “can do wonders for the team” if he plays solely as a batsman as there will be significantly less pressure on his shoulders.
“As for his captaincy, my firm stance is that he should play only as a player. That’s my opinion. When he plays as a player, he can do wonders for the team. But in my opinion, he should stay away from leadership,” the 42-year-old told Cricket Pakistan.
In the T20 World Cup, Azam finished with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
Pakistan lost to the United States of America and India before rebounding to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they picked up two wins, the men in green failed to advance to the Super Eights.
Azam’s next assignment will be the two-Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and Karachi from August 21 to September 3.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi
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