AB de Villiers Backs Babar Azam’s Decision to Step Down as Pakistan Captain

South African legend AB de Villiers has thrown his support behind Babar Azam’s decision to resign as the captain of Pakistan’s white-ball teams.

AB de Villiers praised Babar Azam for his leadership and expressed optimism about the future of his batting.

Taking to social media, de Villiers congratulated Babar on his tenure as captain and encouraged him to focus on his batting moving forward. He tweeted,

Congrats. You’ve been great. Now for plenty more runs for your team.

Congrats. You’ve been great. Now for plenty more runs for your team💪

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) October 2, 2024

Babar’s decision to step down marks the second time in just 10 months that the prolific batter has relinquished his captaincy duties. The news was first shared by Babar on Wednesday via his social media accounts, where he explained the reasons behind his resignation as Pakistan’s leader in ODI and T20Is.

In his message, Babar revealed that he had notified the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the team management of his decision in September. He cited the increased burden of captaincy as a key factor, saying that stepping down would allow him to dedicate more energy to his batting, an area in which he wants to make an even bigger impact.

“Playing for Pakistan has always been my greatest honour. Stepping down as captain will help me deliver even more for the team as a player,” Babar wrote. “I’ve always put the team’s success above everything else, and I believe this is the right move at this stage.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has acknowledged Babar’s contributions as captain and confirmed that the national selection committee has begun discussions on appointing a new captain for the white-ball formats.