3 major criticisms of Babar Azam's captaincy
Pakistan captain Babar Azam is in the firing line after England hammered his team 3-0 in the recently concluded three-match Test series. This is the first-ever instance of Pakistan being whitewashed in a Test series on home soil. The hosts were forever on the back foot, as Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s 'Babzall' approach once again paid rich dividends.
Babar was the leading run-getter for Pakistan in the Test series, scoring 348 runs in six innings at an average of 58. However, the team as a whole failed to make an impression.
Earlier, under the 28-year-old, Pakistan had a mixed campaign in the T20 World Cup 2022 as well. They fought back admirably to end up as runners-up, going down to England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). On a personal note, though, Babar struggled with the bat.
According to recent reports, while Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq could step down after the disaster against England, Babar might also lose his captaincy in Tests by July.
Babar Azam’s leadership under question
Over the last few months, there have been constant question marks over Babar’s leadership across the three formats of the game.
In the wake of Pakistan’s 0-3 drubbing at the hands of England, we look at three criticisms that have been directed at the current Pakistan skipper and his leadership style.
#1 First-innings player
In a shocking claim, former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria opined that Babar is only a first-innings player in Test matches, who fails to deliver when the pressure is on in the second innings.
Kaneria made the comment after the batter was dismissed for just one in the second innings of the Multan Test. Pakistan were bowled out for 328 after being set to chase 355.
The defeat saw Pakistan concede the Test series with a game to go. While the hosts went down in Multan by 26 runs, they were earlier hammered by 74 runs in the first Test in Rawalpindi.
Taking a dig at Babar after the series loss, Kaneria commented on his YouTube channel:
“Babar Azam failed again. He scores runs in the first innings when there is no pressure. I don’t understand why he fails to score runs in the second innings when his team needs him the most. Is he unable to handle the pressure? Is he the only first-innings player? Should we bring someone else other than Babar in the second innings?”
For the record, the Pakistan captain registered scores of four, one, and 54 in the second innings in the series against England. In contrast, he put up scores of 136, 75, and 78 in the first innings.
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In his overall Test career, he has scored 2152 runs in the first innings at an average of 52.48 and 1318 in the second innings at an average of 42.51. The 28-year-old's second innings stats are not bad at all.
He also asserted after the clean sweep against England that captaincy doesn’t affect his batting. The backlash, however, has been extreme because of the manner in which Pakistan caved in.
#2 Not positive enough
According to Pakistan’s out-of-favor wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal, the hosts suffered against England because their leader was not assertive at all.
Comparing the captaincy styles of Ben Stokes and Babar, Akmal claimed that the home skipper failed to make any kind of impact as a leader.
Speaking on his YouTube channel after England clinched the Test series by a 3-0 margin, Akmal said:
"We know where we made mistakes. Those who made their debut, did they deserve it? Did we play the XI according to the pitches? The captaincy wasn't perfect. You look at Ben Stokes' captaincy and Babar's captaincy. He has been Pakistan's skipper for so long, at least have some maturity now, and take better decisions. At least make your presence feel in the ground.
“There was nothing positive about him. From the first Test till the last day of the series, every time there was a press conference, commentators and media, everyone was talking about how England dominated Pakistan.”
There have been mixed reactions to Babar’s laidback captaincy style. While some have stated that he is a calm and composed leader, others like Akmal have raised questions over his inability to inspire the team, apparently due to his lack of killer instinct as a leader.
#3 Selfish captain
Former India opener and outspoken critic Gautam Gambhir raised some eyebrows when he termed Babar a "selfish" captain during the T20 World Cup 2022. The Pakistan opener struggled for runs during the tournament and Gambhir lashed out at him for refusing to sacrifice his opening position.
Not mincing any words after the right-handed batter was dismissed cheaply in Pakistan's Super 12 clash against the Netherlands, Gambhir commented:
"In my opinion, first, you think about your team instead of yourself; if nothing goes according to your plan, you should have sent Fakhar Zaman up the batting order. This is called selfishness; as a captain, it is easy to be selfish.
"It is easy for Babar and Rizwan to open the innings for Pakistan and create so many records. If you want to be a leader, you have to think about your team.”
Gambhir is not the first to label Babar as a selfish leader. Even Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has shared similar views about his country’s current skipper. Recalling an incident from the Pakistan Super League (PSL), he was quoted as saying:
“I have been through this by the way with Babar, at Karachi Kings, yes. In the team we had a couple of bad phases and I requested him once or twice nicely, that please come down at No. 3, we’ll try something different. Let (Martin) Guptill bat at the top, seeing him as an opener.
“He (Babar) said I would not go down, you ask Sharjeel to bat at 3, and he (Sharjeel) is a natural opener too. And these little things that the captain does, the team senses too.”
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Akram joined the PSL franchise Karachi Kings as President in November 2018. Meanwhile, Babar will captain Peshawar Zalmi in the upcoming season of the PSL after being traded to the franchise by Karachi Kings.
Also Read: 3 teams that would have loved to sign Babar Azam in IPL 2023 auction