Babar Azam announced on October 1 that he will be stepping down from team captaincy of the Pakistan Cricket team.
This is the second time Azam has stepped down from this position in the last 11 months. He indicated that he wants to work on himself and his game as well. After Pakistan failed to make the knockout stage in the last T20 World Cup, Azam took it to himself to leave the captaincy but then returned in March for the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan’s cricket team has been facing lots of issues lately, and with their international drought, they dropped to seventh in the T20 rankings and to eighth in the test rankings. It seems Babar was feeling the pressure, which is what caused him to step down again. In addition to the pressure he is facing, he hasn’t been able to hit a half-century in the last 16 innings.
Babar posted on X, “It’s been an honor to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role,” he added. “Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it’s added a significant workload. I want to prioritize my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend quality time with my family, which brings me joy. By stepping down, I will gain clarity moving forward and focus more energy on my game and personal growth.”
The batsman’s record as captain was 43 ODI while only managing to win 26 of those and losing 15, but his record in the T20 is 48-29.
England will be visiting Multan to go against Pakistan in three tests on Monday, 7th of October until the 11th.
