Experts, pundits, and fans have reacted negatively to Pakistan’s stunning loss in the 2nd T20I versus England. Though Shoaib Akhtar thought Babar Azam’s choice to bowl first was unusual, former Pakistan cricketer Intikhab Alam believes the reason for choosing Azam as the all-format captain was a mistake by the management. Too much captaincy pressure on Babar says Intikhab Alam.
Babar should not have been made captain in T20 cricket: Intikhab Alam
Too much captaincy pressure on Babar says Intikhab Alam. Although his batting ability is unquestionable, as evidenced by his career-best 158 in the third ODI versus England, a few poor decisions made when leading the team have upset many former Pakistan cricketers.
Having the team scoring its greatest T20I total, the 26-year-old captain opted to bowl first in the 2nd T20I at Headingly on a spin-friendly and slower pitch.
Intikhab Alam then discusses Azam’s leadership and why he should not have been named captain in all 3-formats: “When Babar was appointed captain in all formats, I had stated that this was not the right thing to do. I think there is too much pressure on him due to captaincy in all formats, even if he himself says that this is not the case. If we wanted to give him captaincy, it should have only been in Test cricket and ODIs. There should have been another captain in T20 cricket,” said Intikhab to Cricket Pakistan.
‘Hopefully, the team will do well in the upcoming T20 matches’: Intikhab Alam
Earlier this week, dissatisfied Pakistani supporters expressed their disappointment with head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis for failing to make an effect on the side. Alam has now criticized the pair’s performance, believing that Younis and Misbah have failed to deliver regular results.
“If you gauge the performance of the coaching staff, there isn’t much improvement in the past couple of years and the defeat against England in the ODI series is also going to affect the morale of the team,” he said.
“The T20 World Cup is just around the corner, so hopefully the team will do well in the upcoming T20 matches and go into the mega event with a positive frame of mind. The conditions in UAE are similar to Pakistan, which will benefit the Pakistan team as well”, he concluded.
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