Inzamam-ul-Haq backs under-fire Babar Azam: “He needs our support at this time”

Pakistan legend Inzamam-ul-Haq has backed under-fire skipper Babar Azam. According to Inzamam, Babar is doing a good job with the bat, while also growing as a leader.

The Pakistan captain has come in for a lot of criticism in recent times. Under him, the Men in Green were whitewashed 0-3 in a Test series at home by England - the first-ever instance of a Pakistan men’s team being blanked in a home Test series.

Earlier, Pakistan recovered from a horror start to reach the T20 World Cup 2022 final in Australia. However, barring the semi-final against New Zealand, in which Babar scored a half-century, the opener struggled for runs.

Sharing his views on Babar’s captaincy, Inzamam was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan:

“There is no captaincy pressure on him, he is answering the critics with his bat. Captaincy is a hard thing, and you learn it with time. Babar is currently going through that phase.”

Inzamam, himself a former captain and the current president of PSL franchise Peshawar Zalmi, also backed Babar to continue as leader of the national team. Giving his vote of confidence to the 28-year-old, he stated:

“He needs our support at this time. The more confidence the captain gets, the better decisions he takes. I don’t think he should be replaced.”

Further, Inzamam threw his weight behind his former teammates and current coaches of the Pakistan team. He commented:

“There are ups and downs in the performance of the team, but Saqlain Mushtaq and Muhammad Yousuf have done a good job."

Meanwhile, amid reports that Babar might be replaced as captain, interim chief selector Shahid Afridi asserted that the current skipper has his complete backing.

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“He is a better option than Babar Azam” - Danish Kaneria has his say on Pakistan’s Test captaincy

According to former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, keeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed, who recently returned to the Test playing XI, should lead Pakistan in red-ball cricket. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria opined:

“Sarfaraz Ahmed should be made Pakistan’s Test captain. He is a better option than Babar Azam. Babar hasn’t been able to lead the side well in red-ball cricket. You cannot let the opposition team score so many runs in such situations.”

Babar is currently leading Pakistan in the second game of the two-match Test series against New Zealand at home. The first Test in Karachi ended in a draw.