Babar Azam’s tenure as skipper of the Pakistan cricket team has become part of infamous folklore, but now his leadership of Peshawar Zalmi is also being called into question by his former teammate.
Babar has gotten off to a horrendous start in PSL X as the leader of Peshawar Zalmi, with a grand total of 1 run from his two outings this year. Zalmi, on the other hand, has also been outclassed in both of those games and sits at the bottom of the PSL X points table. After just two games, questions are being raised about his dual role as captain and leading batsman, with voices getting louder regarding its impact on his performances.
Former Pakistan batter Sohaib Maqsood has now come forward and publicly advised Babar Azam to step down from the captaincy to focus on his batting. Maqsood emphasized that the pressures of leadership are affecting Babar’s performance and that the team needs his batting prowess more than his captaincy.
“Babar (Azam) smiles on the field, pretending he doesn’t care, but the pressure is visible. If captaincy isn’t going well, it automatically creates pressure on performance,” Sohaib Maqsood said on his YouTube channel. “Six to eight months ago, getting him out in practice was tough; now, he gets out two or three times in sessions,” he added.
“You’re Pakistan’s biggest cricket star—you don’t need to prove anything. Play your natural game, the way you’ve played for the last eight years. Practice hard, regain your form, and trust your class—you’re Zalmi’s backbone.” Sohaib, who played 9 fixtures under Babar’s captaincy, ended with this advice.
There is an argument that giving up the captaincy would free Babar Azam from additional burden, as it did with the Pakistan cricket team.
Despite being the highest run scorer in PSL history, Babar has not looked like his old self even on favorable tracks. With Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris waiting in the wings, maybe it is time for Zalmi to consider a change.
Babar Azam will get his next chance to change this building narrative when Zalmi takes on Multan Sultans on Saturday, April 19th, hoping to put their first points on the board.
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