The leadership abilities of Babar Azam have been in the headlines since his side got whitewashed in three-match Test series against England last year.
The discussion became the talk of the town after the two-match Test series against New Zealand at home ended in a draw earlier this month.
The newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management has kept faith in Babar Azam and showed no intention to sack him as a captain.
In the midst of these criticisms, it is necessary to discuss the statistics of Babar Azam’s performance as captain, both in red and white ball cricket.
The national side has played 66 T20I matches under the leadership of Babar Azam, winning 40 of them, and losing 21, while five produced no results.
Under Babar’s leadership, Pakistan qualified for the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-finals, T20 World Cup final, and Asia Cup 2022 final, and won the tri-series in New Zealand.
As per the stats, Pakistan has won more T20I matches under Babar’s captaincy than other captains while the winnings ratio is 65.57.
Captains with more than 20 matches as captain:
| Player | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | 2019-2022 | 66 | 40 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 65.57 |
| Shahid Afridi | 2009-2016 | 43 | 19 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 45.34 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 2016-2019 | 37 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 78.37 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 2012-2014 | 29 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 60.34 |
| Shoaib Malik | 2007-2019 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 67.50 |
The 28-year-old cricketer has captained Pakistan in 18 One-Day Internationals, winning 12 and losing 5, while one match produced no result.
Pakistan defeated Australia in an ODI series for the first time in 20 years under his captaincy, and Green Shirts also won a three-match ODI series in South Africa.
In terms of winning, the all-format captain is on top of the list, leaving behind all former captains in the format, with a winning ratio of 69.44.
Captains with a winning ratio above 60%:
| Player | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | 2020-2023 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 69.44 |
| Saleem Malik | 1992-1995 | 34 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 64.70 |
| Waqar Younis | 1993-2003 | 62 | 37 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 61.66 |
| Wasim Akram | 1993-2000 | 109 | 66 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 61.46 |
| Shoaib Malik | 2007-2019 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 60.97 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 2002-2007 | 87 | 51 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 60.71 |
Meanwhile, captaincy in Test has become a headache for Babar Azam as last year, the national team only managed to win one out of 9 matches.
In 2022, Pakistan lost 0-1 to Australia, drew 1-1 with Sri Lanka, and got whitewashed in the three-match Test series against England before ending the first Test against New Zealand in a draw.
Overall, Babar has captained the side in 19 Tests matches, winning eight, losing four, and drawing seven, including the most recent match against New Zealand.
However, the Lahore-born cricketer is one of the top six captains with a win percentage of more than 40% and at least 10 matches as captain.
| Player | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | %W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | 2021-2023 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 44.44 |
| Waqar Younis | 1993-2003 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 58.82 |
| Saleem Malik | 1994-1995 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 58.33 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 2010-2017 | 56 | 26 | 19 | 11 | 46.42 |
| Javed Miandad | 1980-1993 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 41.17 |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | 1976-1979 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 42.1 |
Sarfaraz played against top teams. ZimBabar wins mostly came against Zimbabwe and west indies