New Delhi: Babar Azam has surprisingly decided to step down as the captain of Pakistan’s white-ball team on Wednesday. The 29-year-old announced his retirement on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Pakistan has been through a rough patch under Babar’s tenure, not winning any major trophy which started back in 2019.
Earlier, in 2023, Babar gave up his captaincy after Pakistan’s debacle in the ODI World Cup. However, he was again handed over the job in March 2024 but he failed to guide Pakistan into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Rate this Shot of Babar Azam 👑❤️
So pleasing to the eyes 😭🔥pic.twitter.com/mjRIw2Me5T
— H A M Z A 🇵🇰 (@HamzaKhan259) September 26, 2024
Azam was not only criticised for his sluggish mentality but also for his ‘team politics’ and feud with fellow players. Everyone who has been following Pakistan cricket in recent times knows the nasty episode that unfolded between Azam and Shaheen Afridi. Babar vs Shaheen was one of the hot topics of discussion in Pakistani cricket. Furthermore, Shaheen’s tenure as captain was shortlived as he was sacked immediately following the 4-1 loss against New Zealand.
Now, as Babar steps back from captaincy, things can crawl back to normalcy once again with the ego fight taking a back seat.
Babar Azam’s retirement post:
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
Netizens react to Babar’s decisions
Babar’s resignation saw a huge outpour of anger from the fans and followers of Pakistani cricket who hold Azam responsible for the situation that the team is in currently.
Babar Azam resignations: 2
Babar Azam Trophies Won in 6 Tourn: 0 https://t.co/uPjBRKmVhn
— Lahori Guy (@YrrrFahad_) October 1, 2024
– got shaheen sacked to get captaincy back
– became the first captain to get kicked out for the 2nd time in an year
– was captain during our worst ODI WC and WT20 campaign https://t.co/AYUBk8wjGB pic.twitter.com/aQUgCipIFX— -invader 🇵🇸 (@sshayaannn) October 1, 2024
Babar Azam has stepped down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain.
He should’ve never accepted the captaincy offer in the first place earlier this year.
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) October 1, 2024