LAHORE (WS News) – Babar Azam announced stepping down from the white-ball captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team on Tuesday, Dunya News reported.
Babar Azam had continuously been criticised for his poor captaincy record and having no major achievements in the ICC tournaments.
His poor red-ball form had escalated the pressure on him to score runs.
Babar Azam led Pakistan in 43 One-Day Internationals, of which he won 26 and lost 15 matches. His T20I record as Pakistan skipper saw him win 48 matches out of a total of 85, while the 29-year-old lost on 29 occasions.
Babar Azam, in a late night post on social media platform X, announced that he was stepping down from his role as the white-ball captain of the Pakistan cricket team.
Dear Fans,
I’m sharing some news with you today. I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month.
It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus…— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) October 1, 2024
Babar in his post on X said: “I’m sharing some news with you today. I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month.
“It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role.
“Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it’s added a significant workload. I want to prioritize my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend quality time with my family, which brings me joy.”
Babar Azam was earlier the all-format skipper of Pakistan. He stepped down previously as captain after Pakistan’s poor show at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi succeeded him as the T20I captain but was soon replaced by Babar, who was reappointed as the skipper in March 2024.
