Legendary Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi feels that it’s time for Babar Azam to take the tough call and relinquish the T20I captaincy. Pakistan recently lost the T20 World Cup final to England by 5 wickets at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Pakistan skipper came under scrutiny for his defensive captaincy throughout the tournament which put the team in a tricky position in several matches.
The Men in Green have a disappointing start to the campaign where they suffered defeats against India and Zimbabwe. At one stage, it was highly unlikely for them to get to the semifinal, but Netherlands beat South Africa to produce one of the greatest upsets in tournament history which made way for Pakistan to reach the last four.
Afridi suggested that Babar should focus on his batting and lead Pakistan in Test and ODIs only.
“Babar was not happy with the management at Karachi Kings as it is. I feel he should take a tough call and quit captaincy in T20 cricket. He should focus on his batting and lead the team in Tests and one-dayers,” Afridi said in an interview with Sama TV.
Babar finished the 2022 T20 World Cup with 124 runs in 7 matches with an underwhelming average of 17.71. He was criticised throughout the tournament for his reserved batting approach in the powerplay.
Afridi further suggested the names who have the potential to take over the captaincy charge from Babar in the shortest format.
“I respect Babar a lot and that’s why I don’t want him to take the pressure of captaincy in T20 cricket. I want him to focus on his captaincy in longer formats. You do have players like Shadab, Rizwan and even Shan Masood who can lead the team in the T20 format,” Afridi added.
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The legendary all-rounder is not the first former Pakistan star to ask Babar to relinquish T20I captaincy. Earlier Salman Butt said that Babar has to question himself now about continuing as captain in the shortest format,
“Babar being the best player of the team and the skipper, he should question himself if I am able to carry on and deliver results,” he said on his YouTube channel.
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