Former Pakistan Player Reveals He Advised Babar Azam Against Becoming captain

Babar Azam was made the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team in limited-overs format after Sarfaraz Ahmad was sacked in 2019. In late 2020, he was appointed the leader of the Test side. Over the last few years, his record as captain in ODIs and Tests is mixed while having a great record in T20I. Recently, his team lost the final of the Asia Cup 2022.

Since then, the right-hander has been getting a lot of criticism for his tactics. Meanwhile, his cousin and former Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Kamran Akmal has revealed that he advised Azam not to take the captaincy. Akmal explained that he urged his cousin to reach the level of the likes of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith before becoming the captain.

“During a T20I in Faisalabad when Babar was walking out for the toss, I got to know that he is being made captain. That is when I told him… ‘I don’t think now is the right time for you to become captain. Give your best performances in the next 2-3 years. The batting line-up is depended on you. Reach Virat Kohli’s level first, Steve Smith’s level. By then, you would have scored 35-40 centuries and enjoy captaincy. The moment Sarfaraz leaves, you will be next in line. But now is the right time. I told him back in the day but it was his decision. Those who were close to him, must have spoken to him and advised him to take up captaincy,” Kamran said during a YouTube show.

I also told him to concentrate on his batting: Kamran Akmal

Akmal added that he had told the current Pakistan skipper to concentrate on his batting first. The former wicketkeeper batter also maintained that removing Babar Azam from the job will push Pakistan cricket back.

“I had also told him to only concentrate on his batting. He was scoring runs and would have continued to do so. The flow was beautiful. People enjoyed watching him bat. With captaincy, there will be pressure, which will affect his batting, his approach. And somewhere, that is visible now. But at the same time removing him as captain right now would be a big blunder on the part of the team management. Pakistan cricket will go back,” added Akmal.