Mohammad Asif: “Before the 2026 World Cup, we have to change the captain, coach and the players”
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Former Pakistan speedster Mohammad Asif has called for Babar Azam to be removed as limited overs captain before the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Azam’s future as white-ball skipper remains up in the air, especially after the men in green failed to make it out of the group stage in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
In addition to the 29-year-old, Asif also put Pakistan white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten in his crosshairs.
The 41-year-old further noted that decisions must be made about which players will form the core of the T20I team going forward so that they can gain enough experience by the T20 World Cup rolls around in 2026.
“Before the 2026 World Cup, we have to change the captain, coach and the players. There needs to be planning for the two years that this is the team, this is the 20 players we want to work with. But we are repeating the same things, which is why I am telling you this,” he said on The Nakash Khan Show as quoted by NDTV.
“When the likes of India, and South Africa are moving forward in the next two years, we are still in the same spot.”
Azam recently featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh and scored 64 runs at an average of 16.
His poor performance with the bat was among the key reasons why the men in green were beaten 2-0.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match Test series against England, which will be held from October 7 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, 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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