Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has recently suggested Fakhar Zaman as a potential candidate to replace Babar Azam as the national white-ball captain.
Babar Azam has been under fire following Pakistan’s lacklustre ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, where they got knocked out from the group stage.
Many fans and critics have attributed the Green Shirts’ disastrous performance to Babar’s captaincy and called for his removal as captain.
Shoaib Malik, during an interview with a local sports outlet, expressed support for struggling Babar and advised him to stay strong during tough times.
“Ups and downs are a part of life, especially when you are a cricketer from the subcontinent. He [Babar Azam] needs to stay strong during this time. I know he has a personality that embraces challenges; right now, it’s a downtime, but good times will come too,” Malik said.
The former captain suggested Babar Azam to leave captaincy and focus only on his batting. Malik believes that the star batter can perform better without the burden of captaincy on his shoulders.
“As for his captaincy, my firm stance is that he should play only as a player. That’s my opinion. When he plays as a player, he can do wonders for the team. He should stay away from leadership,” he further added.
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When questioned about who should take over as the white-ball captain if not Babar, Malik expressed his disapproval of appointing a fast bowler as the captain in modern-day cricket, citing concerns about their workload.
He then suggested Fakhar as a potential candidate for captaincy, emphasizing his batting capabilities, which align with the demands of modern-day cricket.
“According to today’s fearless cricket, Fakhar Zaman should be considered for white ball captaincy because he has the leadership capacity,” he concluded.
It is worth noting that former captain Younis Khan also suggested Fakhar Zaman as a new candidate to fill in the shoes of Babar Azam.
“Why can’t Fakhar Zaman be the captain of the side isn’t he a performer? Didn’t he do well in the last 50-over World Cup? Who is that one player who gave us hope? Zaman started the 2023 World Cup in India poorly however, in the second half turned his form around which coincided with Pakistan’s success”, he said while speaking on national television.
Fakhar has never captained Pakistan in his seven-year international career. He endured a dismal 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, scoring only 33 runs at an average of 8.25 and a strike rate of 110 in four games.
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