‘Everybody in Pakistan was surprised’, says Imad Wasim on Babar Azam’s captaincy return
New Delhi: Starting from Pakistan’s poor performance in recent times and also in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar Azam was removed from Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy and the role was handed over to Pakistan’s pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. After the period of six months, the Pakistan Cricket Board handed over the captaincy to Babar Azam ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Talking about Pakistan’s campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup was not as good as they expected and even Babar Azam was disappointed. Imad Wasim, the Pakistan allrounder who was part of the squad, opened up that the squad was surprised to see Babar Azam return as Pakistan’s skipper.
Speaking during an interview, Imad Wasim said, “Yes, I was surprised. What can I say, it’s ultimately the selector’s call. Whatever they thought was the best option, they picked and they picked the team (accordingly).”
“Everybody in Pakistan was surprised, not just me. So, I can’t say no that I was not surprised,” he added.
Commenting on his side’s poor T20 World Cup campaign, he said, “Yeah, our performance wasn’t up to the mark, to be honest, and we have to accept that, including myself. So yeah, but it is what it is. I think we had a good side, but it didn’t click. It can happen in any format, especially T20. But yeah, it was disappointing. I was really disappointed. It took me a long time to get over it.”
Babar Azam was also taken out by the Pakistan Cricket Board, who didn’t name him as one of the captains for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. According to several reports, the batter’s leadership has been put under the scanner and is expected to be removed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain.
Focusing on the Pakistan Cricket Team management reportedly, a new Pakistan captain will be appointed for their upcoming tour of Australia. According to reports, white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has already had discussions with PCB officials in July, and Mohammad Rizwan is being tipped as Babar’s successor as white-ball skipper, and as captain of all three formats in the future.