Star batter Babar Azam has announced his decision to step down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain to focus on improving his personal performance.
In his heartfelt message, Babar thanked his fans for their unwavering support and stressed the importance of focusing on his personal growth and performance moving forward.
His tenure, which began in 2019, saw some successes, but Pakistan struggled to secure a major tournament win during his captaincy. Recently, Pakistan’s elimination in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023 and their failure to reach the knockout stages of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India placed further scrutiny on his leadership.
Following the World Cup, Babar resigned from captaincy across all formats. Although Shaheen Shah Afridi briefly led the T20I side, Babar was reinstated as the white-ball captain soon after. Despite these challenges, Babar expressed pride in leading the team, but emphasized that stepping down would allow him to prioritize his own game and enjoy his batting.
Pakistan’s next challenge will be a three-match Test series against England, beginning in Multan on October 7.
