Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has lashed out at star batter Babar Azam and other players for prioritising personal gains over team goals. Babar has come under the firing line for his batting and leadership of late. He hasn’t scored a half-century in his last 16 Test innings, with his form drawing harsh criticism from former players. Younis is the latest to jump the gun as far as criticism of Babar and other top players is concerned. Younis highlighted the team’s failure to win games in recent times, saying that Babar and others talk more than they perform.
“If Babar and other top players deliver on the field, then results will be clear to everyone. Humare players khelte kam, bolte zyada hai. (I have observed that our players tend to talk more than they perform),” Younis told Cricket Pakistan at an event.
Younis also urged Babar to learn something from Virat Kohli, pointing out how the India star batter relinquished his captaincy to focus more on his batting.
“Look at Virat Kohli. He chose to step down from captaincy on his own terms, and now he’s breaking records worldwide. This shows that playing for the country should be the priority. If there’s any energy left, then play for yourself,” Younis suggested.
“The only suggestion I have for Babar is that he should focus on his cricket. He should up his performance. Babar Azam was made the captain because he was the best player at the time. I was there when the decision was made that the team’s best player should be the captain.
“Your focus should be on cricket. You have to perform everywhere because there are very high expectations. Players should focus more on cricket and use social media wisely, but their real answers should come through their performances with the bat and ball. He (Babar) needs to focus on his fitness and work ethic because opportunities like these don’t come around often,” he added.
Pakistan’s white and red ball head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have advised the country’s cricket board against changing the captains in haste after recent shoddy performances across formats. Babar Azam was sacked from white ball captaincy after 2023 ODI World Cup round robin exit in India and his replacement Shaheen Shah Afridi was removed after one bad series. Similarly in Tests, after Babar resigned, Shan Masood was named captain but after 0-2 Test series defeat to Bangladesh, there are calls for his immediate ouster.
A PCB source however told PTI that recent media speculations about Masood and Babar’s sacking is nothing more than kite flying.
“There has been no discussion on changing the captains as the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has left it up to the two coaches and selectors to decide on the captaincy,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
