Azhar Ali: “I have criticised Babar a lot for his captaincy. I still believe that after captaining for such a long time, he should have built another team during this period”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Ali believes Babar Azam should have “built another team” while he was captain.
Azam captained the men in green on two separate occasions, but mostly continued to field the same players, much to the frustration of a lot of people.
Azhar was one of those who questioned why the 30-year-old was unwilling to give chances to players who had been performing and refusing to drop those who were failing to live up to expectations.
“I have criticised Babar a lot for his captaincy. I still believe that after captaining for such a long time, he should have built another team during this period,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently toured South Africa with the Pakistan team and made 31 runs in two T20Is at an average of 15.50.
His form began to pick up in the ODI series as he scored 148 runs in three matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.33.
Azam continued to shine in the two-Test series, accumulating 193 runs, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 48.25.
However, he was unable to maintain his newfound momentum in the two-Test series against the West Indies in Multan as he only managed to make 45 runs at an average of 11.25.
Nonetheless, Azam will be looking to get back to his best during the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will take place from February 19 to March 9.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
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