Babar Azam should step down as white-ball captain: Former Pakistan player

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali suggested Babar Azam step down as the side's white-ball captain and focus solely on his batting performance. The cricketer turned analyst made the remarks ahead of Pakistan's two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which is set to be the crucial part of the World Test Championship Cycle 2023-2025. The forthcoming series is set to take place on August 21 in Rawalpindi. The 53-year-old cricketer feels that Pakistan is extremely great at overpromising and underdelivering, especially when it comes to the World Cup.

Notably, Babar Azam was appointed Pakistan's skipper ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, the Green Army had a miserable campaign as they failed to enter the Super Eight fixture after losing to debutant USA and eventual champions Team India in the first two matches of the group stage. The Men in Green got the win over Ireland and Canada, which wasn't enough for them to make their place in the next stage.

In the same vein, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali feels that the 29-year-old cricketer should leave the captaincy to focus on his batting. The stylish right-handed batter last scored the century against Nepal, and that without being the captain. Ali feels that Babar Azam can do well in his batting and can break several records if he steps down as Pakistan's captain.

“Babar Azam has made the last century against Nepal in the Asia Cup. It is a great chance for him to prove himself. To come back in the Test Rankings. And he is not the captain. It is a very good thing. And he should quit the white-ball captaincy as well. He should focus on his batting. He is a premium batsman of Pakistan. So, he should perform well,” Basit Ali said.

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In the last 2-3 years, we have played a lot of talkative cricket: Basit Ali

The Karachi-born cricketer feels that Pakistan has the great habit of playing talkative cricket, as the side keeps claiming that they will win the World Cup or play in the finals, but they should deliver it as well now.

“In the last 2-3 years, we have played a lot of talkative cricket. We will win the World Cup. We will win the Asia Cup. We will play in the finals in India. It was all talkative cricket. Now, it is time to deliver," he added further.

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