Former Pakistan pacer Yasir Arafat claimed that white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten’s report after the national team’s dismal run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 resulted in Babar Azam’s resignation from captaincy.
Kirsten reportedly wrote a confidential report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which got leaked in the media, in which he highlighted the issues that contributed to Pakistan’s disastrous performance during the T20 World Cup 2024.
The former champions, under the captaincy of Babar Azam, were knocked out of the group stage of the tournament for the first time, mainly due to their upset defeat against co-host United States of America (USA) in the campaign opener, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.
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Meanwhile, three months after the national team’s early exit from the mega event, Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam, shockingly announced to step down from the role to focus more on his batting.
But, former Pakistan cricketer Yasir Arafat was of the view that Babar’s resignation was linked with Gary Kirsten’s report.
“If you remember, after the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 Gary Kirsten wrote a report,” said Arafat.
“So, I think, the recommendations he gave, especially regarding Babar’s captaincy after analyzing his leadership in England and also in the World Cup, led to Babar’s resignation.
“Also, he [Kirsten] had analyzed that Babar was not the perfect candidate for Pakistan captaincy.”
Earlier today, it was reported that Gary Kirsten wanted Babar Azam to continue as the captain of the ODI team. However, he was keen on replacing Babar as captain in T20I format.
However, Babar decided to quit as captain from both formats and informed a top official in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before announcing his resignation.
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