Saqlain Mushtaq on Babar Azam: “Shaheen was appointed for the short term and he’s already out. Now Babar has come in for the short term, there’s been just one World Cup, and now he’ll be changed”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Iconic Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq believes Babar Azam will lose the limited overs captaincy despite only being handed the role in March 2024.
Mushtaq pointed out that Pakistan have developed a habit of keeping short-term captains, especially considering what happened to left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose tenure as T20I skipper lasted one series.
The 47-year-old feels that the men in green could keep changing their captain in the future unless someone gets immediate results.
“For example, Shaheen was appointed for the short term and he’s already out. Now Babar has come in for the short term, there’s been just one World Cup, and now he’ll be changed. Someone else will come, and then there’s the Champions Trophy, and after that, the T20 World Cup,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and amassed 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The 29-year-old will be back in action when Pakistan take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, which will be played 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
[TS_Poll id=”124″]