Babar Azam stepped down from the Pakistan captaincy on November 15 after weeks of speculation following his side’s poor performance in the 2023 World Cup.
Pakistan lost to India, Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and England, and were eliminated from the tournament before the semi-finals. Before the tournament, they had reached the top spot in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings for the first time in May and were considered potential title contenders.
In the Asia Cup, they failed to reach the finals, losing to India and Sri Lanka, and there were some signs of things to come. Differences of opinion were said to have arisen between Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi after the tournament, and there were also rumors of growing tension in the dressing room between the senior group.
It was only when losses mounted during the World Cup that Babar came under sustained pressure to resign as captain. He was reportedly asked to continue as Test captain, but chose to relinquish leadership in all formats. Shan Masood has been appointed Test captain and Afridi will take over for his T20Is strong> – ODI captain is yet to be announced.
It is difficult to evaluate Babar’s achievements as Pakistan’s captain. He led the Test team in 20 matches between 2021 and 2023, recording 10 wins, six draws and four losses. His tenure as captain began with a historic series win against South Africa. He won both Tests of the series, securing Pakistan’s first series win against South Africa since 2003.
This was followed by a series win against Zimbabwe, a two-game drawn series in the Caribbean, and a victory over Bangladesh. But since then, his balance sheet has deteriorated dramatically. After drawing the first two Tests against Australia on rough pitches, Pakistan surrendered in the final match, their first series defeat against Australia at home since 1998.
When England toured Pakistan at the end of 2022, Babar fell victim to the Buzz Ball annihilation. Compared to England’s aggressive approach, proactive captaincy and flat-deck ability to force results, Pakistan looked predictable, unimaginative and far behind the pace at which England dictated matches.
In some ways, Babar’s Test captaincy is hampered by the type of pitch that Pakistan prepares for the touring team. It would be so difficult to force a result on them that it would all but negate any home advantage enjoyed by other teams. However, the Babar captains could not impose the urgency that would allow them to enforce their will. Regular rotation of players should also play an important role.
As far as white-ball captaincy is concerned, Babar’s legacy is ironically much stronger given that his team’s performance in the ODI tournaments decided his fate. Last year, he led Pakistan to his first Men’s T20 World Cup final since 2009 in Australia. Looking back a year later, it appears to have been an unpleasant moment when Shaheen limped off during England’s counter-attack.
Babar has led his team to 19 wins in 28 matches, the highest winning percentage (69.64%) among Pakistan’s male captains. As mentioned earlier, under his leadership, Pakistan recorded series wins against South Africa, Australia and West Indies and became the world’s number 1 ODI team.
However, performance in major tournaments determines the quality of a captain and the 2023 World Cup disaster will be Babar’s last memory as captain.
Who do you think should replace Babar Azam as Pakistan captain?#PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/ZxxUE9uYRa
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 15. November 2023
There are many things in the atmosphere in which Babar must act as a captain. The role of captaining Pakistan is perhaps the most difficult role in international cricket due to intense scrutiny from fans, near-constant loud comments from celebrities at domestic matches, and the political instability of his leadership. . The confusion of a series of his PCB updates made on the day of Mr. Babar’s retirement is enough to explain the instability of the situation.
Another factor to consider in Babar’s captaincy is his importance to the team as a batsman. Like many other captains, he took the job not because of his leadership experience but because he was confident in his place in the team in all three formats. Pakistan relies heavily on him to score runs, especially in white-ball formats, and to compensate for mistakes made by others. This led to increased criticism of his T20I strike rate, but keeping his wickets was key to winning matches for Pakistan, and he was able to convert his fifties into big scores during the ODI World Cup. That was one of the reasons the team fought. p>
But to Babar’s credit, unlike many other players, captaincy had a limited impact on his scoring. He averaged better as a captain than as a player in Tests and ODIs, scoring 20 of his half-centuries in T20Is as a captain. The records he is able to break as a player on the team are breathtaking.
Although Mr Babar led Pakistan to successes and there are extenuating circumstances for some of his failures, the mark he leaves behind is best seen in the way he leaves the Pakistan side. Babar was instrumental in the final stages of Pakistan’s exit from the 2019 World Cup after Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked as captain. In the short term, he managed to reverse his dismal performance in Test formats and continue the momentum he was building in the white-ball arena.
However, the current situation with him leaving the team means that the new captain is struggling to defend his place in the eleven, and the ODI team lacks a good spinner and an unpredictable batting line-up. I’m saying that. He failed to break the cycle of Pakistan’s chaotic dismissal of captaincy or leave an indelible mark on his team.
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