Why Babar Azam Deserves To Be Criticized After The #PAKvsAFG Match

Babar Azam is being censured by the fans and commentators after the #PAKvsAFG game and so, here is a look at why the Pakistani skipper deserves every bit of criticism that he is receiving at the moment after Pakistan lost to Afghanistan by eight wickets.

Read: #PakvsAfg: #Imam Assures Pakistan Will Bounce Back

Poor and Biased Team Selection

Following the #AsiaCup23 it was obvious that the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf were seriously out-of-form. It was also clear that Usama Mir and Mohd. Wasim Junior did not have the skill level that was required during the world cup. However certain media reports prior to the start of the tournament suggested that the skipper resisted changes to the Asia Cup squad and instead advocated for the same bunch of players to represent the country during the world cup. This meant that deserving candidates like Abrar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Zaman Khan and Shan Masood were unable to find a place in the 15-member touring party.

If media reports are true, then there is no doubt that the responsibility of the debacle lies with Babar and so, he deserves to be questioned because his resistance to change has certainly landed Pakistan in a very embarrassing position.

Read: #PakvAus: Hasan Ali Expects Shaheen Afridi To Come Good

Weak Captaincy

Only yesterday, Babar allowed Usama Mir an over during the death stages of the game ahead of Haris Rauf! During his tenure as the country’s captain, on more than one occasion, Babar has made serious mistakes like not allowing a key bowler to complete his quota of overs, not reading the conditions correctly, selecting a wrong playing XI etc. 

Regardless of what happens going forward, Babar is one of the best batters that Pakistan has produced in a long time and so, he is better of letting go of captaincy and limiting his focus to doing what he does best!