LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf on Saturday said Babar Azam struggled with the responsibilities of captaincy during his tenure.
Azam was recently named the leader of white-ball cricket by taking on Shaheen Afridi in T20Is. Azam has stepped down from captaincy in all formats following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup under Ashraf. Afridi took over the T20I captaincy, while Shan Masood was named in red-ball cricket.
Afridi’s captaincy in T20Is has come under scrutiny after Pakistan’s disappointing series in New Zealand and Lahore Qalandars’ performance in the Pakistan Super League. He eventually replaced Azam Afridi as the T20I captain.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Ashraf Azam said that he has voluntarily resigned from all forms of captaincy.
“I offered to keep Babar Azam as the captain of red ball cricket, but we want to appoint a new captain of white ball cricket. He said he will resign if he is replaced as captain in one format, below the captain in All formats. Ultimately, I focus on playing as a member team for Pakistan. I offer to wrap up because it is clear that he finds it difficult to cope with the pressure of the captain.”
Ashraf believes it is too early to remove Shahi from the white ball captaincy. However, Azam and the national cricket team have achieved their best wishes.
