Babar Azam! A Failed Captain?
Friends, welcome to THE PAKISTAN SOCIETY. Today, we are discussing Babar Azam as a captain, especially since he recently resigned from the captaincy. Let’s see how Babar Azam fared as a captain!
Babar Azam was appointed captain after Sarfraz Ahmad in 2019, as the public believed that the team’s star performer should be the captain. Initially, under Babar Azam’s leadership, Pakistan played home series against major teams like South Africa and Sri Lanka, performing well. However, over time, questions arose about Babar Azam’s defensive strategy, leading to Pakistan losing crucial matches. In 2021, Pakistan performed well under his captaincy in series against West Indies, Bangladesh, and South Africa. During this period, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja gave Babar Azam full authority, allowing him to select and field the team as he wished.
In the T20 World Cup 2021, the Pakistani team delivered incredible results, including defeating India for the first time in a World Cup. However, Pakistan lost to Australia in the semi-final. Despite this, the young Pakistani team and Babar Azam received praise and encouragement.
The 2022 Asia Cup, Babar Azam’s second major assignment as captain, saw Pakistan perform remarkably, defeating India in the Asia Cup after eight years. However, they lost to Sri Lanka in the final, leaving Babar Azam’s dream of winning a trophy unfulfilled once again.
In 2022, under Babar Azam’s captaincy, Pakistan won a tri-series in New Zealand. Soon after, they traveled to Australia for the World Cup. Despite being among the favorite teams, Pakistan faced defeats against India and Zimbabwe, leading to heavy criticism of Babar Azam’s captaincy. Nevertheless, Pakistan qualified for the final, only to lose to England.
In the 2023 Asia Cup, Pakistan’s team entered with a strong bowling lineup. After a one-sided victory against Nepal, they bowled out India for 260 in the next match, but the game was incomplete due to rain. The 10th September 2023 Super 4 match between Pakistan and India is said to have drained Pakistan’s team’s strength, and since then, the team has not made a comeback.
Then, the 2023 ODI World Cup began in India, where Pakistan again underperformed. This led to questions about the team’s performance and the captaincy. Following the losses, PCB removed Babar Azam from the captaincy, appointing Shan Masood as the Test captain and Shaheen as the T20 captain. However, both faced significant defeats in their first assignments in Australia and New Zealand.
Before the 2024 T20 World Cup, Babar Azam was reinstated as the captain for T20 and ODIs. However, this time too, the results did not differ, with Pakistan facing a historic defeat against the USA and failing to qualify for the Super 8. After the World Cup, Babar Azam faced renewed criticism, and calls for his removal from the captaincy resurfaced. However, PCB was not ready to remove him.
Numerous meetings followed among PCB officials, where Babar Azam himself expressed his desire to step down from the captaincy. Yet, PCB and the coaches decided to keep him as captain until the 2025 Champion Trophy.
In September 2024, a meeting was held with star players, PCB officials, and coaches Garry Kirsten and Jason Gillispie. Babar Azam expressed his wish to step down as captain. Coach Garry Kirsten responded that while they could not remove him from the captaincy, he could step down from the T20 captaincy and continue in ODIs. Subsequently, on 1st October 2024, around midnight, Babar Azam announced on social media that he was resigning from the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team to focus on his batting.
Babar Azam’s Records as Captain: Babar Azam set many records during his captaincy, including some unfortunate ones where Pakistan faced embarrassing defeats against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland, and the USA.
Overall, Babar Azam is considered Pakistan’s second-best captain after Imran Khan. Under his leadership, Pakistan won 84 out of 148 matches and lost 50.
What do you think of Babar Azam’s decision? Can Pakistan find a good captain after Babar Azam, and will the team rise again? Share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you.