Babar Azam is ranked as one of the top batters in all forms of cricket at present. The 28-year-old is currently the no. 1 ranked ODI batsman in the world. The talented batsman is consistently able to be in the top-5 rankings in the other formats too. He is also the captain of the Pakistan Cricket team in all formats.
However, former wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal feels that the only way Babar can score 25000 runs in international cricket is if he leaves the captaincy spot. He is not able to handle the pressure to lead the team and it is affecting his batting too, Akmal thinks.
“If you want him to score 25,000 runs or 22,000 runs, he should only play as a player. Otherwise, he will come under extreme pressure and his performance will go down,” Akmal was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Babar Azam’s forgetful run at 20-20 World Cup 2022
The Lahore-born batsman has failed to impress with his captaincy skills and it has affected his batting ability too as he was able to score only 124 runs with an average of 17.71 at a poor strike rate of 93.23. Following a string of poor performances, both with the bat and as a captain, the former no. 1 ranked T20I batter has been advised by many former Pakistani cricketers to leave his role as a skipper.
The Babar-led team was able to qualify for the finals of the 20-20 World Cup 2022, but they lost the match against the English side in the decider which cost them the World Cup trophy. Despite reaching the finals, the 28-year-old was heavily criticized for his captaincy by his own country’s former players. He was also criticized for not leaving his opening slot.
Pakistan will be playing against England in a 3-match Test series starting from 1 December. Babar will look to get his form back and score some runs. He is currently the no.3 ranked Test batsman in the world. The youngster has 7 Test tons under his belt and he has scored 3122 runs with an average of 47.3 in 75 innings.
