Cricket fans excitedly anticipated one of the most anticipated games of the year on an exciting Saturday, October 14, as India and Pakistan faced off in the ODI World Cup 2023. India easily defeated Pakistan after chasing down a small 192-run mark in just 30.3 overs with seven wickets left.
This represents Pakistan’s second setback to India in as many months, following their defeat to Rohit Sharma’s squad in the Asia Cup 2023 this past September. Babar Azam’s leadership is now a widely contested topic in the wake of their seven-wicket loss in the World Cup.
Opinions on the topic diverge: some feel that the 29-year-old captain should be given more time to show himself, while others believe that his tenure as the national team’s captain has run its course. Expressing this stance, Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik, himself a former captain of the Pakistan team, proposed that Babar should step down from the captaincy. Malik believed that Babar has the ability to make a more substantial contribution as a batsman, and this move might have a favorable impact on the squad.
“Look, I will give you my honest opinion on this. I have already said this in previous interviews that Babar should leave captaincy, it is just my opinion but there’s a lot of homework behind it. Babar, as a player, can do wonders for himself as well as the team,” the former Pakistan skipper stated.
“It is my personal opinion and that is not because we lost the game today [against India] or we lost by a big margin, no it [my opinion] is not built on that,” Malik continued while speaking to A Sports.
Additionally, Shoaib Malik underlined that Babar Azam tends to keep to conventional thinking when presented with pressure, despite his lengthy term as the team’s leader. Malik made it clear that he’s not influenced by personal reasons; rather, these insights derive from his long-term appraisal of Azam. The former captain also highlighted the significance of keeping Azam’s excellent batting skills distinct from his leadership responsibilities.
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“I think that Babar, as a leader, doesn’t think out of the box. One shouldn’t mix his leadership with his batting skills as they both are different. He has been a captain for a long time now, but he hasn’t been able to improve himself,” Malik concluded.
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