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Tag: Babar Azam captaincy

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Babar Azam is not a quick learner, he lacked aggression as a captain: Junaid Khan

Former Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan said that Babar Azam was not a “quick learner” and despite leading the team in all three formats for four years, there was no sign of improvement in his captaincy. “Babar had not improved as a captain. If you see Saifi bhai (Sarfaraz Khan), he kept improving day by day. We won the Champions Trophy under his leadership, become World No 1 in the T20Is,” Junaid said on Nadir Shah’s podcast. “People say we become ODI No 1 team under Babar Azam’s captaincy. But we became No 1 by playing against weak teams. Babar is not a quick learner. He is a world class batter but his captaincy was not up to the mark,” he said. The left-arm pacer backed Shan Masood and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had been appointed as the captain on Test and T20Is, respectively. “Shaheen...
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Babar Azam is a valuable part of the team’s leadership group: Shan Masood lauds former Pakistan skipper

Babar Azam has divided opinions in the cricket fraternity as captain of the Pakistan side and he has given up the role after a mediocre World Cup campaign. However, current red-ball skipper Shan Masood believes that Babar Azam is a valuable part of the leadership group and his insights are immeasurable. “I have a really good relationship with Babar Azam, on and off the field. We have a long working history as we have played together for a very long time. We have batted together in both in domestic and national level cricket. Babar is a valuable part of the team’s leadership group and his insight to the team is immeasurable, as is his batting,” Masood told the reporters on Wednesday. Having started off their World Cup campaign with back-to-back wins, Pakistan lost track in the middle of...
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I think Babar’s a very good player… but it’s typical of Pakistan, they change captains: Ian Chappell on Pak captaincy saga

After Pakistan’s exit from the ODI World Cup 2023, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Babar Azam. Former players in the media kept referring to tensions and disagreements in the dressing room with regard to some of the decisions the former skipper was making. And so, days after getting thrashed by England in their final group game Babar stepped down from captaincy. While there have been mixed reactions regarding the decision former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell said it is “typical of Pakistan” to play musical chairs with their captains. “Yeah that’s a pity, I think Babar’s a very good player. He’s not leaving the Pakistan side and maybe they can find a better captain. But it’s typical of Pakistan, they change captains (frequently),” Chappell said, speaking on Wide World of Spo...
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Babar Azam steps down as Pakistan captain from all formats after disastrous World Cup campaign

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, during a practice session. File | Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K Babar Azam on Wednesday announced his decision to step down as Pakistan captain from all formats of the game after his side’s debacle in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.The 28-year-old player has relinquished the captaincy role of the side from all formats, he made the announcement on X via a statement. “I vividly remember the moment when I received the call from the PCB to lead Pakistan in 2019. Over the last four years, I’ve experienced many highs and lows on and off the field, but I wholeheartedly and passionately aimed to maintain Pakistan’s pride and respect in the cricket world,” Babar wrote in a statement. pic.twitter.com/8hZqS9JH0M— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) November 15, 2023“Reaching t...
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Shahid Afridi slams Babar Azam, says he could not ‘improve as captain and leader in four years’

With Pakistan cricket team crashing out of the ongoing Cricket World Cup in India before the knockout stages, it seems the knives are out for captain Babar Azam. After the Pakistan team lost their final group stage match against England, Ramiz Raja had said that he had spoken to Babar before the game and that he would take a call on stepping down from captaincy after landing back in Pakistan. On Monday, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi slammed Babar’s captaincy. “I’m a fan of Babar. Babar is a big player, for me he is like a younger brother. I wanted that Babar join the list of top captains in the world. He’s been captain since four years or so, there was never a sword hanging over his head. We all supported him during this phase. We thought in three-four years he would be we...
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Ramiz Raja loses his cool, defends Babar Azam, slams PCB for destroying Pakistan cricket

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has defended under pressure Babar Azam and had slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) destroying Pakistan cricket. Pakistan has failed to qualify for the World Cup as they finished fifth on the points table and a lot of fingers has been raised on skipper Babar Azam for his poor captaincy. “Jab naye ball se wickets nahi lenge, aap expensive hote jayenge toh Babar Azam kya khaak kapataani karega (When bowlers will not take wickets with the new ball and start getting expensive, how would Babar do captaincy then?,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel. Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming Worl...
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Cricket World Cup: Mohammad Amir slams Babar Azam’s captaincy, cites example of MS Dhoni on how he built the Indian cricket team

Former Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir said that there is no need to change in the system of the Pakistan cricket but it is the mindset of team’s captain Babar Azam, which is hurting the national team.“Captaincy does matter,” Amir said on a show ‘Haarana Mana Hay‘ on Geo news. Amir also made a scathing remarks on former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief and Ramiz Raja, who recently has said that it is the system which needs to be changed and has backed for captain Babar Azam to lead the team in the future. Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site. “What is the system? I...
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Babar Azam is depressed and frustrated: Ramiz Raza

Ramiz Raza, former Pakistan captain chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said he felt bad for Babar Azam after having a chat with him on the sidelines of the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on the eve of their last league match against England. “it was not a nominated meeting. I was doing a show for the ICC at the nets. It was a meeting by chance. There were no specific plans for this meeting with Babar,” Raza told SUNO NEWS. Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site. “Babar looked depressed & sounded frustrated because Pakistan didn’t qualified in the semifinal of the ...
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‘Tops in class but fails in matric exam’: Abdul Razzaq and Sikandar Bakht on Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s No 1 ranking

Former Pakistan cricketers Abdul Razzaq and Sikandar Bakht slammed Babar Azam’s batting approach and said he should take the leaf out of Rohit Sharma’s book and show intent. “We kept talking about No 1 batter in the World. I want to ask whether it helps in getting good contracts,” former Pakistan pacer Sikandar Bakht said on Geo Super. “Aisa lag raha class mey No 1 and matric ke imtihaan mey fail (It looks like he tops in the class but fails in the matric exam),” added Bakht. Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site. Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq said Babar Az...
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Pakistan’s World Cup loss against Afghanistan opens can of worms; flood of criticism directed at Babar Azam

Pakistan has suffered a shocking and continuous decline in hockey and squash in the past two decades. For, a country that has won three Olympic golds and a record four World Cup titles in hockey, being on the brink of missing out on their third straight Olympic Games is nothing less than a catastrophe. In 80s and 90s, squash was ruled by the Khans – Jahangir and Jansher. Following Jansher’s last triumph in the British Open in 1996, squash as a sport in Pakistan has only gone down.Following Pakistan’s Chennai debacle in the ODI World Cup, the question has been raised whether cricket will face the same fate as hockey and squash in Pakistan. Fakhar-e-Alam, host of the cricket show The Pavillion on ‘A Sports’, asked this question to his panellists, former skippers Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, ...
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ICC World Cup | What went wrong for Pakistan national cricket team

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has scored only two fifties in this World Cup. His captaincy has been questioned and he has faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam Pakistan’s chances of making the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup are on a knife-edge after their eight-wicket defeat to Afghanistan.It was the team’s third successive loss at the tournament after two opening wins. AFP Sport looks at three problem areas for Babar Azam’s faltering team:World class bowling looks ordinaryPakistan’s bowling was touted as world class before the Asia Cup and when they restricted a strong India side to 266 all out in a washed out game at Pallekele, commentators saw it as a major warning to World Cup rivals. But two weeks before the showpiece even...
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‘He has learnt nothing in the past four years’: Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq hit out at Babar Azam

Coming down heavily on Babar Azam’s captaincy in the ODI World Cup after Pakistan’s eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan, former Pakistani captains Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq has termed Azam as not good enough for the captaincy role. Afghanistan restricted Pakistan on 282 and then chased it down with an over to spare. The defeat understandably saw temperatures rise back in Pakistan with former national team players pointing fingers at tactics, bowling or the captaincy of Babar. Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site. “From Chairman, selecto...
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Babar Azam must quit captaincy… there is no shame in doing so, says Intikhab Alam

Babar Azam should take the leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book and must quit captaincy so that he can enjoy his batting and can become one of the greatest batsmen of all time. There is a lot of pressure on Babar Azam from the outside as well as from the inside. I personally feel he should quit captaincy. He lacks that character. As a captain, one should be bubbly and calling the shots in the ground. He doesn’t talk much. I hardly see him talking to the bowlers. As a captain, you can’t let your chips down. Against Australia, he looked out of ideas, his shoulders were down. If your bowlers are leaking runs, you need to talk to them, give them plan B if plan A has backfired. When things are going wrong, that’s when you need a strong captain. Cricket is a thinking game, and a smart captain must ...
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Babar Azam must give up captaincy in one format: Mohammad Azharuddin

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin urges Babar Azam must give up captaincy in one format as going forward, it will take a toll on him. “Behtareen batsman hai (He is an excellent batter). He is consistent as well. Captaincy is an issue. He has led Pakistan really well so far,” Mohammad Azharuddin on former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali’s YouTube channel. Azhar explains the reason why he thinks it will take a toll on Babar because of the amount of cricket nowadays being played. “Now the time has come that every team should have a different captain for different formats. The pressure is immense. At some point, he will have to give up captaincy in one format,” said Azhar. Azam’s Pakistan team have been through a rough patch in Tests recently. They went through a whitewash in a thr...