Shahid Afridi on Babar Azam failing as Pakistan captain in World Cup: A sword wasn’t hanging over his head

Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi said that Babar Azam failed to grow as the Pakistan skipper despite not being under any sort of pressure. Afridi made the comments after Babar failed to lead his team through to the semi-final of the World Cup 2023.

World Cup 2023: Points Table

Pakistan finished fifth in the table and lost to England by 93 runs in their last league match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pakistan started with wins against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four matches in a row. Although they beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to end in the top four.

Back in November 2019, the Lahore-born Babar captained Pakistan for the first time in the T20I series against Australia.

“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,” Afridi was quoted as saying in an event in Karachi.

Afridi said that despite having a lot of time on his hands, Babar failed to live up to the expectations of being the captain of the national team.

“We thought in three-four years he would be well groomed to handle the responsibility as a captain. He would mould himself as a captain. But this didn’t happen. He could not improve in this period and could not prove himself as a good leader. We have seen plenty of errors during the World Cup,” he stated.

“A leader’s role is to take everyone along. He cannot have just one or two players who are doing well, he needs to have eight or nine players who are playing good cricket and whom he can consult on decisions,” Afridi added.

After the World Cup debacle, Pakistan are scheduled to play against Australia in three Tests in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. It remains to be seen if Babar stays as the national skipper amidst all the criticism.