"We have seen a lot of mistakes" - Shahid Afridi points out flaws in Babar Azam's captaincy post Pakistan's 2023 World Cup exit

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has been pretty vocal about Babar Azam's captaincy woes in the 2023 World Cup and once again shed light on what he felt after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals.

Afridi claimed that he always supported Babar and wanted the latter to prove himself as a captain. However, the former all-rounder believes the Pakistan skipper just hasn't been able to adapt even with more and more experience as a leader under his belt.

Here's what Shahid Afridi was quoted as saying by The Times of India about Babar Azam:

"I am a big fan of Babar and so are many others. People criticized me for criticizing Babar's captaincy (aap Babar ki kaptani ke piche pade hain). Babar has always been like a younger brother to me.

"I wanted Babar to be on the list of top captains. He has been captaining for 3-4 years. During this period, there was never a sword hanging over his captaincy. We all supported him. We thought in 3-4 years his grooming would make him better. He would be able to prove himself as a captain and a leader but that hasn't happened. We have seen a lot of mistakes."

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A leader has to be strong: Shahid Afridi on Babar Azam

Shahid Afridi also claimed that Babar Azam possibly didn't make tough decisions as a captain and didn't inspire his players by leading by example. He reckons Babar should have known who his match-winners are and should have gotten the best out of them.

On this, Afridi stated:

"Leader has to be strong. He has to take everyone along with him. A leader does not have one or two players. He has 7-8 performers, who take them together forward."

Babar also had a poor World Cup with the bat by his standards, scoring just 320 runs in nine games.