Star Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam is facing a lot of criticism these days. The right-handed batter is targeted by fans and former greats due to Pakistan’s inability to get desired results against England in the recently concluded three-match Test series. The Men in Green suffered an embarrassing 0-3 defeat against England at home. It was the first time in Test cricket history that Pakistan suffered a series whitewash at home. In the red-ball assignment, Azam did his best to help Pakistan achieve the desired results by leading the run scoring charts, but his efforts were futile, and his team suffered three consecutive defeats.
Following the team’s losses, there are calls for removing Babar from the leadership role. Many fans and former greats feel that the pressure of captaincy is having an adverse effect on the right-handed batter’s performance. But amid growing criticism from all corners, Babar has found support in the form of former skipper and star all-rounder Shahid Afridi. The former great leader feels that sacking Babar from the leadership role won’t solve Pakistan’s problems, and instead he calls for a change in mindset.
“This (replacing Babar as captain) is not the solution. The mindset of the captain needs to be changed. Management needs to change the mindset, they need to demand a certain style of cricket from the captain and his team. If you have to take the Pakistan team to the top, you need to change Babar’s mindset. It’s not only his mistake or responsibility. The management also has the responsibility, they are so much more senior. They need to make the players understand on the style of cricket they expect from them,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“So, if only Babar is being held responsible for this debacle, it would be very unfair,” the former Pakistan cricketer added.
Babar will have a chance to silence the critics as early as next week, when Pakistan will host New Zealand in a two-match Test series. For the first time since May 2002, New Zealand will travel to Pakistan for a red-ball series.
