"This is what happens when your captain is weak" - Ahmed Shehzad takes indirect dig at Babar Azam after Pakistan's 2024 T20 World Cup debacle
Pakistani batter Ahmed Shehzad took an indirect dig at Babar Azam while lauding New Zealand's Kane Williamson for relinquishing white-ball captaincy following his team's 2024 T20 World Cup exit. The Blackcaps suffered a group-stage exit at the ongoing showpiece event.
He mentioned that Williamson's stepping down from captaincy and opting out of the central contract were characteristics of a true leader. Shehzad opined that Pakistan, on the other hand, have a weak skipper who has often shied away from taking the blame for the Men in Green's underwhelming performances at multi-nation tournaments.
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, June 19, Shehzad wrote (translated from Urdu):
"Kane Williamson's bold decision to step down from the limited overs captaincy after New Zealand's poor performance in the World Cup. It is the characteristic of a true leader who is the first to accept blame and initiate accountability. He also refused New Zealand's central contract, which would have left players fighting for a place in their domestic cricket. What an example set. New Zealand thrived under his leadership and remained very consistent in international competitions. One bad tournament and he quits.
"On the other hand, we see captains who do not take the blame at all and who have failed in many World Cups, Asia Cups but are still power hungry which results in grouping in the team. This is what happens when your captain is weak and not performing. When you say that New Zealand or India have not won the trophy, look at their captain's bravery by resigning. What do you think about us? When will we be so honest and brave? We are down to number seven in the rankings and below that is only darkness. What do you think?" he added
The Babar Azam-led Pakistani team also failed to secure a place in the Super 8 round of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their back-to-back defeats against the United States of America (USA) and India resulted in a premature group-stage exit for the side.
"You're a fraud king" - Ahmed Shehzad on Babar Azam's performances in T20 cricket
Ahmed Shehzad did not mince his words while slamming Babar Azam for his performances in the 20-over format, calling Pakistan's limited-overs captain a fraud king.
Suggesting that he has better stats compared to Babar, here's what Shehzad said during a show on Geo News:
"Your strike rate is 112 and average is 26. You haven't hit a single six in 207 balls in the Powerplay. I admit I could've improved on my own performances 8 years ago, but your stats are even worse. You are worse than me, but you are king. You're a fraud king."
Shehzad also claimed that Babar Azam had ruined Pakistan's domestic cricket as well by picking his friends over deserving players. He added:
"He could not bring any trophy for Pakistan. After that you have ruined the entire domestic structure, you are such a captain, you cannot unconventionally run the domestic team to bring in your friends."
It is worth mentioning that Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy across formats after Pakistan's 2023 ODI World Cup group-stage exit. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi replaced him as the T20I skipper.
However, Babar was reinstated as Pakistan's white-ball captain ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 29-year-old has received widespread criticism for his leadership in the ICC event.