‘You need to show aggression to boost…’ – Former Pakistan cricketer slams Babar Azam after ODI World Cup 2023 debacle

Former Pakistan cricketer Junaid Khan had slammed Babar Azam for his poor captaincy, which made them lose the ODI World Cup 2023. Notably, the Men in Green were only able to get four wins in the marquee event, which knocks them out of the tournament ahead of the playoffs. However, Babar Azam also resigned from the captaincy post after the ODI World Cup 2023 debacle.

However, the former Pakistan’s left-arm pacer, Junaid Khan, has revealed that Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam has not improved as the captain during his tenure. The great cricketer cited the example of Sarfaraz Khan by affirming that he used to improve every day, which helped him earn the title of Champions Trophy back in 2017 after defeating India at the Oval in London. In addition, the former left-arm pacer said that Babar Azam guided his side to top spots in ODIs after winning the games against weak teams.

“Babar had not improved as a captain. If you see Saifi bhai (Sarfaraz Khan), he kept improving day by day. We won the Champions Trophy under his leadership, became World No.1 in the T20Is. People say we became ODI No.1 team under Babar’s captaincy. But we became No.1 by playing against weak teams. Babar is not a quick learner,” Junaid Khan said.

Babar Azam has captained all the formats for four years but there was no progress: Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan also cited the example of Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who guided his side to wins in the WTC Final and ODI World Cup 2023. Moreover, the 33-year-old cricketer also talks about the leadership qualities of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and compares them to Babar Azam.

“Look at Pat Cummins, he won the ODI World Cup for Australia. Virat Kohli also struggled but he has that aggression. He struggled after MS Dhoni retired, but he still has a good record. People will say Dhoni and Stephen Fleming were not aggressive but they know how to lead a side. Babar doesn’t had those traits. You need to show aggression to boost the boys. He has captained all the formats for four years but there was no progress,” he added further.