Babar Azam recently quit Pakistan white-ball captaincy, announcing his decision on social media. Former Pakistan pacer Yasir Arafat alleged that white-ball coach Gary Kirsten’s report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was the reason for Babar Azam’s decision.
His decision comes as the national team is failing in all formats. This is the second time the star hitter has stepped down as captain of the Pakistan cricket team.
The 29-year-old batsman initially stepped down as captain following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shaheen Afridi succeeded him as T20I captain, but the PCB later sacked him. Babar was reappointed captain in April ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
PCB’s decision to re-appoint Babar as captain proved ineffective, as the squad was eliminated in the group stage. The United States of America (USA) defeated the Men in Green in their opening encounter. After this terrible result, there was increasing speculation.
Gary Kirsten analyzed Babar Azam as not a good captain: Yasir Arafat
Following Pakistan’s unfortunate early elimination from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Kirsten reportedly delivered a report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) outlining critical reasons contributing to the team’s poor performance.
The report, ultimately leaked to the public, highlighted leadership issues under Babar Azam during the England tour and the World Cup. Pakistan, led by Babar, was eliminated in the group stage after unexpected defeats, including an upset loss to co-hosts the United States and a closely contested match against arch-rivals India.
Three months after the World Cup, Babar announced his resignation as Pakistan’s white-ball captain, citing a desire to concentrate more on his batting. However, Arafat believes the resignation was closely related to Kirsten’s analysis.
“If you remember, after the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 Gary Kirsten wrote a report. So, I think, the recommendations he gave, especially regarding Babar’s captaincy after analyzing his leadership in England and also in the World Cup, led to Babar’s resignation. Also, he [Kirsten] had analyzed that Babar was not the perfect candidate for Pakistan captaincy,” Arafat stated as per Cricket Pakistan.
The report also stated that Kirsten wanted Babar Azam to continue as Pakistan captain in ODIs, but wanted a new skipper as T20I captain. Ultimately, Babar resigned from both formats, informing PCB officials before making his decision public.
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