(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Former Pakistan fast-bowler Wasim Akram thinks that Babar Azam should free himself off the captaincy duties in the league cricket.
Babar is the skipper of the Peshawar Zalmi and will be seen leading the franchise in the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was previously the captain of the Karachi Kings, where Wasim Akram, who is the President of the team, watched him at the close quarters.
After a disappointing World Cup 2023 campaign, Babar relinquished the Pakistan captaincy. However, he is still at the helm of affairs as far as Peshawar Zalmi are concerned.
Speaking of his this, Akram revealed that he had advised Babar to not captain a side in the PSL and instead play solely as a player as he thinks leading a franchise adds to to the pressure unnecessarily.
“I had a given an idea to Babar Azam a couple of years ago that don’t do captaincy in league cricket. [You’re a] Big player, take your money, play your game, get runs, go home, and then to the next event. Pakistan’s captaincy is alright, but the league brings extra stress without any reason,” Akram said as quoted to Sportskeeda.
Former India batter Gautam Gambhir, who had picked Babar as his player to watch out for in the 2023 World Cup, opined that the latter will perform better in the Test series versus Australia Down Under. Gambhir feels Babar will be more relaxed with the captaincy baggage and this will bring the best out of him.
“I think you’ll see the best of Babar Azam now, you’ll see a completely different Babar Azam because I had picked Babar Azam ahead of the World Cup. I told him that he’d be the batter of the tournament, but the captaincy pressure [let him down].
“When you do captaincy in the World Cup and the team doesn’t perform well, then you can imagine the pressure on the skipper. Now, you’ll see the actual Babar Azam, which no one has seen. I don’t know what are the records of Babar Azam, but you’ll see his actual ability from now on,” Gambhir asserted.