Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, has become the focus of all the haters following a devastating series defeat at the hands of England. Kamran Akmal, his cousin, is not an exception; he recently criticized the 28-year-old Pakistan captain and questioned his leadership maturity. He called out Babar, questioned his conduct on the field, and claimed that the player lacked any redeeming qualities.
Shahid Afridi, a former captain of Pakistan, disagrees that criticizing Babar will solve the issues. He thinks that in order to play a particular style of cricket, the team management and Babar need to alter their perspectives. Afridi added that it is unjust to place all the blame on Babar because other senior members of the management should also bear some of the blame.
“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 Pakistani 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 the style of cricket they expect from them,” Afridi said. “So, if only Babar is being held responsible for this debacle, it would be very unfair,” he added.
Pakistan is preparing to face New Zealand at home in an effort to regain some lost prestige following a dismal performance against the Three Lions. Hasan Ali, who missed the second and third Tests against England due to a shoulder injury, and Naseem Shah have both been recalled to the squad for the two-match Test series. Azhar Ali will be replaced for the series by untested batsman Kamran Ghulam, while Faheem Ashraf is being urged to play domestic cricket.
Pakistan Test Squad for New Zealand Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, and Zahid Mahmood
