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Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel has strongly criticized Babar Azam, suggesting that he lacks suitability for T20 International cricket. This critique follows widespread dissatisfaction with Azam’s leadership and Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Last year, Babar Azam resigned as captain after Pakistan’s early exit from the ODI World Cup. However, he resumed his role as T20I captain in April, a decision that has not yielded positive results. Pakistan’s series against a weakened New Zealand team ended in a draw in April, followed by a loss to Ireland in a T20I and a 2-0 defeat against England. This poor form continued into the T20 World Cup, where Pakistan failed to progress beyond the group stage, suffering defeats to the USA and India.
Babar Azam’s individual batting performance has also been underwhelming. Since assuming captaincy earlier this year, he has struggled to make significant contributions with the bat. In the T20 World Cup, he scored 122 runs at a strike rate of 101.66, failing to lead by example on the field.
Parthiv Patel criticizes Babar Azam:
Parthiv Patel has strongly criticized Babar Azam’s recent performances both as a captain and a batsman. Speaking on the YouTube show Cyrus Says, the former cricketer discussed the decline of Pakistani cricket.
He began by contrasting the current players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with the stalwarts of Pakistan’s cricketing past. Patel remarked that Pakistan no longer boasts the caliber of players who excel in T20 cricket. When the show’s host mentioned Fakhar Zaman, Patel suggested that Zaman had been relegated in the batting lineup because Babar Azam, driven by self-interest, insisted on opening the innings himself.
“They have a very weak team now. Look at the team they used to have: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, Yousuf Yohana (Mohammad Yousuf), Saqlain Mushtaq, and now Babar Azam, Rizwan,” said Parthiv Patel.
“They don’t have players. They don’t have T20 kind of players, the way cricket is going right now. We are talking about a strike rate of 150, 160, and they are still in the 120s. They are far behind any other international side.
The captain wanted to open, so he had to come down. When your captain himself is a selfish player, then there is no chance,” he added.
