Babar Azam is facing criticism after Pakistan’s surrender in the three-Test series against England. The visitors lost all the contests, with Babar’s position as captain coming under the scanner. Legendary pacer Wasim Akram has also slammed Babar for his leadership and questioned his decision to take up captaincy for the second time. Akram and Waqar Younis attended a fundraising event in Manchester. He was surprised by Babar’s claim that he was not aware of the changes to Pakistan’s team and coaching staff after defeats in the first two Tests.
PCB sent seven players home and sacked coaches, bringing Mike Hesson on board for the third and final game of the bilateral assignment. Babar was asked about the changes before the last game, and he said that the developments were news to him and urged the reporters to get in touch with the Pakistan Cricket Board for clarification.
“Babar Azam claimed he was not aware of anything. If you are not unaware of the happenings, then why are you here in the first place? Were you selling chickpeas?” Akram said.
The former Pakistan captain pointed out that players can’t give their best if their captain is not standing by them.
“You can’t give your 100 percent if your leader is not with you. As a player, you need the support of your captain,” he added.
Akram felt that Babar should have left the captaincy after Pakistan’s second consecutive defeat and continued as a batter.
“I don’t want to play the blame game as I could be wrong. But Babar shouldn’t have accepted the captaincy. It was unnecessary. He should have played as a player after the second Test.”
Babar’s return as Test captain
Babar replaced Shan Masood as Test captain before the two-Test series against the West Indies. He was in charge of the team from 2020 to 2023 in his first stint. He led Pakistan in 20 Tests, winning 10, losing six and drawing four.
The sub-continent team lost the series opener against the Windies but returned to winning ways in the second red-ball game. The England series started on a disappointing note for the visiting squad. Joe Root’s team won the first Test by an innings and 103 runs before beating Pakistan by 194 runs at the Home of Cricket.
The PCB took action and removed seven players from the team. Although Pakistan scored over 400 runs in the second innings of the third game, England still managed to register an eight-wicket win to complete a 3-0 series sweep.