Former Pakistan Cricketer Umar Gul shared his views on Babar Azam’s captaincy in International Cricket as he has seen him closely during the home New Zealand series recently, where he worked as interim bowling coach for Pakistan during Afghanistan and New Zealand series.
The Pakistan skipper has been facing criticism regarding his captaincy after he failed to win a single Test at home against England and New Zealand. The 28-year-old has been leading the Pakistan team since he took over the captaincy from Sarfraz Ahmed.
Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Umar Gul believes that Babar Azam leads his side with authority which was evident in the recently concluded New Zealand series, and reckons that he is a dominating captain for Pakistan in International cricket and feels that the Pakistan skipper should be aggressive in his approach going forward leading the country.
“I have observed Babar Azam closely during the New Zealand series, and one thing is clear he is a dominant force, relentlessly striving for the success of his team. When we looked at his performance against the Blackcaps as the skipper, it’s evident that he leads with authority,” Umar Gul said.
“As a captain, if you are dominating and your team’s performance is exceptional, there is no doubt that you can consider yourself a dominant captain. If Babar is leading the team, he should maintain that dominance”.
Babar Azam has been an exceptional performer for men in green in all three formats since his debut for Pakistan and is regarded as one of the greatest batters from Pakistan to play in World Cricket. Babar has a total of 30 hundred in all formats of cricket in International cricket, with over 59.17 average in 50 overs format in 98 innings.
There Is Always A Learning Process And Every Player Has To Go Through That – Umar Gul
Umar Gul feels that Babar Azam should continue his style of dominant captaincy for the Men in Green and reckons that he has got a lot of things to improve and believes that the Pakistan skipper would learn that through experience and divulged that Babar Azam has full control over the team.
“I think it’s a good sign that he should dominate, but still he needs to improve a few things because no such player joins the team and turns out to be a good captain immediately. There is always a learning process and every player has to go through that. Right now, I think Babar Azam has total control over the team,” Umar Gul concluded.
Babar Azam will have a huge test in his captaincy skills as they will play Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 later this year, as his gameplay and captaincy will be crucial for their team in the ICC events.