Pakistan’s Babar Azam, leaves the pitch (AP photo)
The team were further penalised by an 11-point deduction for a slow over-rate in the third Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Because he struggles to handle that, “So I think we are losing a player if we are going to give him this responsibility.
Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis believes the decision to hand Babar Azam the Test captaincy again could be hurting the batter’s performances, arguing that the team risks “losing a player” by placing the leadership burden on him. Waqar, who has served in several coaching roles with the Pakistan men’s team, said Babar is a technically accomplished batter but appears to struggle when the additional responsibility of captaincy comes his way. Whenever he takes this responsibility or is given a responsibility, I don’t think he performs that well,” said Waqar during an event.
He also suggested that Babar’s inability to fully back his teammates under pressure makes the role unfair to both the players and the captain himself. “I have seen him as a player. Technically, a very sound player. Very complete and elegant player. As a player, I don’t personally see anything wrong with him. But I think with the captaincy pressure, he takes a little too much on himself. The comment drew criticism from former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram , who questioned Babar for not standing by his team. Pakistan’s recent results have also left them ninth in the World Test Championship standings with four points.