After Pakistan’s exit from the ODI World Cup 2023, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Babar Azam. Former players in the media kept referring to tensions and disagreements in the dressing room with regard to some of the decisions the former skipper was making. And so, days after getting thrashed by England in their final group game Babar stepped down from captaincy.
While there have been mixed reactions regarding the decision former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell said it is “typical of Pakistan” to play musical chairs with their captains. “Yeah that’s a pity, I think Babar’s a very good player. He’s not leaving the Pakistan side and maybe they can find a better captain. But it’s typical of Pakistan, they change captains (frequently),” Chappell said, speaking on Wide World of Sports.
Having started off their World Cup campaign with back-to-back wins, Pakistan lost track in the middle of the league stage as they lost four games in a row, including a first-ever loss to Afghanistan in the 50-overs format.
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“Reaching the number 1 spot in the white-ball format was a result of the collective efforts of players, coaches, and management but I’d like to express my gratitude to passionate Pakistan cricket fans for their unwavering support during this journey. Today, I am stepping down as the captain of Pakistan in all formats. It’s a difficult decision but I feel it is the right time for this call,” Babar would tweet in his announcement.
Pakistan will be travelling to Australia for a three-match Test series led by Shan Masood in the first week of December. It will be the first series as captain for the southpaw. “The problem with Pakistan is they don’t have a great record in Australia, even when they had good sides who could bat and bowl. They’ve got some good quickies at the moment but the bounce of Australian pitches has always troubled them,” Chappell said.
“If you look at the Australian side, they might be on the wane a bit, particularly when Warner goes but they’ve still got a very good attack and it’s a good pace attack. Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, those blokes will worry Pakistan with that extra bounce,” he concluded.
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