Former Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan feels former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was not a quick learner in the leadership position despite leading the team in all three formats of the game. The 29-year-old resigned as the captain of the Pakistan team following the team’s poor performance in the recently concluded ODI World Cup.
Babar Azam has been an exceptional player for the Pakistan team across the format, however, his leadership and on-field tactics have generated criticism. The Men in Green has lost momentum multiple times as a result of his bad decisions. Babar’s excessively defensive field placements and bowling adjustments have contributed to the team’s loss in the crucial games.
Speaking on Nadir Ali’s Podcast, Junaid Khan believes that Babar Azam hasn’t improved as captain despite leading the team for a brief period of four years.
He also praised Sarfaraz Khan for leading the team to the 2017 Champions Trophy victory and emphasized how Pakistan rose to the top of the rankings while Babar Azam was captain, defeating lower-ranked teams
“Babar had not improved as a captain. If you see Saifi bhai (Sarfaraz Khan), he kept improving day by day. We won the Champions Trophy under his leadership, and became World No. 1 in the T20Is,” Junaid Khan said.
“People say we become ODI No 1 team under Babar Azam’s captaincy. But we became No 1 by playing against weak teams. Babar is not a quick learner. He is a world-class batter but his captaincy was not up to the mark,” Junaid Khan added.
Pakistan side’s World Cup campaign has taken a turn for the worse following their defeat against India in Ahmedabad, as they struggled to get going tournament. Babar Azam has had his opportunity to establish himself as the leader of the Pakistan team but he hasn’t done so while leading the team.
Babar Azam Has Captained All The Formats But There Was No Progress – Junaid Khan
Junaid Khan feels that Shaheen Afridi has done a brilliant job as the skipper of Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League and cited the example of World Cup-winning skipper Pat Cummins, who won the marquee event for his country being a bowler and feels Babar Azam hasn’t shown any signs of improvement in the four years, where he had led the side.
“Shaheen has changed Lahore Qalandar’s cricket, Look at Pat Cummins, he won the ODI World Cup for Australia. He is aggressive, he walks the talk, Virat Kohli also struggled as but he has that aggression. He struggled after MS Dhoni retired, but he still has a good record”.
“People will say Dhoni and Stephen Fleming were not aggressive but they know how to lead a side. Babar doesn’t have those traits. You need to show aggression to boost the boys. He has captained all the formats for four years but there was no progress,” Junaid stated.
Following Pakistan’s poor performance in the ODI World Cup, a lot has happened in Pakistan Cricket. Babar Azam stepped down as team captain following the team’s miserable performance in the important competition.
Shan Masood has been chosen as the Test captain of Pakistan, while Shaheen Afridi has been selected as the T20I skipper. The group has also included new coaches.
