The criticism that has been levelled at Babar Azam for his performance as captain in test cricket has not subsided.
In 2022, Pakistan did not win a single test match, and in December of the previous year, they were swept by England in a test series that consisted of three games.
There has been a lot of discussion and writing about how poorly the pitches in the country are, but skipper Babar Azam has also been under fire from a number of current and past Pakistani players for the way he captains the team.
There is no way out for Babar Azam as long as Pakistan continues to put on a lacklustre performance in the format.
Following the conclusion of the second test match against New Zealand, he was questioned by a journalist about the future of his test captaincy, and Babar gave a direct response to the topic. The inquiry concerned the future of his test captaincy.
“Kuch log keh rahe hai aapki team pe grip kamzor hoti ja rahi hai. Dosti yaari ka silsila Pakistan team mein khatam ho rahi hai. (There are those within the Pakistan Cricket team who believe that your influence over the team is waning, and that the friendships you once shared with your teammates are dissolving) “as stated by the journalist.
“Shan Masood has been appointed to the position of One-Day International (ODI) vice-captain as a result of Shahid Afridi’s appointment to the position.
Now it is being stated that even the captaincy of the test matches could be taken away from you soon? “he continued.
In response to this, Babar Azam said: “Sir, you are the only one who will know who would be taking over the captaincy. It makes no difference to me in any way. My job is to play well in the game while also driving my squad to do their best.”
Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed survived 21 balls in failing light on Friday during the second Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Ahmed struck a fighting century to prevent New Zealand from claiming victory in the match.
After removing Sarfaraz for a career-high 118 with 39 balls left in the match, New Zealand were in striking distance of a victory that would seal the series for them.
But as the sun began to drop, Naseem scored 15 runs, and Ahmed scored seven runs, to lead Pakistan to 304-9 in pursuit of a 319-run total when the umpires Alex Wharf and Aleem Dar deemed the light to be impractical to continue with three overs left to play.