Pakistan’s former wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif, in an interview with Cricket Pakistan, stated that skipper Babar Azam might consider dropping the leadership role, in one of the formats, if his side fails in the upcoming Twenty20 International (T20I) series against England and the upcoming tour of West Indies.
The 52-year-old believed that he might be asked to take the decision or decide to focus on his batting himself if the situation goes south in the near future. The former captain also added that Babar might consider stepping down as the One-day Internationals (ODI) captain.
“Babar has the team support but not the support as far as performances are concerned in this series. They won their previous few series. Here [in England] they have given very bad performances but we will still give margin to Babar. This T20 series and the upcoming tour of West Indies is very crucial for Babar’s captaincy. I think if it goes south, Babar might have to relinquish captaincy after the West Indies series in order to preserve his own performances. I think he might be asked to or take the decision himself if they fail miserably in the series against West Indies,” Latif was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Latif went on to suggest that Pakistan should appoint someone like Hasan Ali as the captain of the ODI team. Pacer Ali has been part of the side for a while now and has impressed with the ball in white-ball cricket. Latif believes the fast bowler’s aggression can come in handy for Pakistan in ODIs.
“He [Babar Azam] is ok as the T20 captain and even in Tests. The main problem is in the ODI format. We have to fix that. I think in the ODI format they should try someone like Hasan Ali. Someone with a bit of aggression should captain in the ODIs,” he added.
“Babar has the team support but not the support as far as performances are concerned in this series. They won their previous few series. Here [in England] they have given very bad performances but we will still give margin to Babar. This T20 series and the upcoming tour of West Indies is very crucial for Babar’s captaincy. I think if it goes south, Babar might have to relinquish captaincy after the West Indies series in order to preserve his own performances. I think he might be asked to or take the decision himself if they fail miserably in the series against West Indies,” Latif was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Latif went on to suggest that Pakistan should appoint someone like Hasan Ali as the captain of the ODI team. Pacer Ali has been part of the side for a while now and has impressed with the ball in white-ball cricket. Latif believes the fast bowler’s aggression can come in handy for Pakistan in ODIs.
“He [Babar Azam] is ok as the T20 captain and even in Tests. The main problem is in the ODI format. We have to fix that. I think in the ODI format they should try someone like Hasan Ali. Someone with a bit of aggression should captain in the ODIs,” he added.
