If hard time takes a toll on a person, and that needs to be proved through a character, the condition of Babar Azam could be painted through a picture. The superstar of Pakistan cricket has been going through such a tough time in the last eight to nine months, both with the bat, in the field, and with the leadership duties.
Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, Pakistan didn’t enjoy a great time in India during last year’s ODI World Cup in 2023, as they finished fifth position in the event with just four of their nine games. Among those four games, two came against the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
The same story continued in the recent Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). It went horribly for the Green Brigade, who lost their opening fixture of the group stage against the USA side before managing to find a way to get a defeat against India from a winning position.
The future of Babar Azam as Pakistan’s white-ball captain is in doubt
In the last two ICC tournaments, Babar Azam didn’t enjoy a great time either with the bat in hand. In the 50-over World Cup, the right-handed batter smashed 320 runs in nine innings at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 82.90 with the help of four centuries.
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In the recent 20-over World Cup, the 29-year-old could collect only 122 runs in four innings at an average of 40.66 and a strike rate of just over 100, which was terrible in the shortest format of the game.
The reports have claimed that the selectors of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are planning to take extra responsibility from shoulders of Babar to make his free and concentrate on his batting totally, which will benefit the team more. `
The first indication came when they decided not to appoint the Lahore-born as their captain of any sides during the upcoming Champions One Day Cup, as the local news channel has reported.
The next white-ball trip for Pakistan will be in October when they fly to Australia for the T20I and ODI series, and Babar Azam’s future as the captain of the limited-overs format is in serious doubt. The veteran wicket-keeper batter of the side, Mohammad Rizwan, who is the current vice-captain of the side, could be named as the new leader of the team.
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Further, it has also been noted that the white-ball coach of the national side, Gary Kirstein, had a discussion with the board officials regarding the captaincy of Babar Azam towards the start of the year. The talks are expected to be around Rizwan, who at the moment seems to be the brightest option for the role.
Some of the reports have also confirmed that if the wicket-keeper is confirmed as the new captain of the side, then he could be considered as the new leader for the team across all formats in the game in the future, putting the future of Shan Masood as the Test captain in doubt.