[VIDEO] Junaid Khan "As a player Babar Azam is the world’s number one, but giving him the captaincy in all three formats on a plate was wrong"

[MenInG]

In his chat with Saj, Junaid Khan making a good point that Babar was given too much responsibility, too quickly and not given a chance to grow into the role. He should have started off with T20 captain first then moved to leadership roles in other formats once he had proven himself.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1720133237182193940

 

[Saj]

As a captain you will eventually get found out.

You can win matches against the weaker sides and add numbers to the win column which makes your stats look good, but what counts is the wins against the stronger teams.

Most of the key matches against stronger teams, Babar has been found wanting regarding his captaincy.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Is he still playing cricket?

 

[ghalib kichlu]

He didn't even captain karachi kings before he became pakistan captain
That's the whole point of the ipl/psl

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Babar should have been given Test leadership IMO. For LOIs you need a more innovative reader of the game. Don't know if we have any in Pak.
Rizwan could well be an option for ODIs after the wc.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

He's been a liability since the start. No way he was capable of captaincy and not hindering his batting. Inspires zero confidence as a leader

 

[FearlessRoar]

I completely agree with Junaid Khan's viewpoint. Babar Azam is undoubtedly one of the world's top players, but being handed the captaincy in all three formats was not right decision. He should quit captaincy in all three formats and should focus on his game.

 

[giri26]

Where is this world number 1 in batting coming from? Is it based on the ICC rankings alone? In 23 ODIs this year he averages 43 at a SR of 83. Apart from that 151 against Nepal, his averages aren't great against any side besides New Zealand and Afghanistan (53 & 46 respectively). His SR is over 80 only against 3 sides, NZ, Nepal and Australia (Against Australia he just made 18 runs at a SR of 128).

Average of 25 in 5 Test innings this year and 43 in 5 T20 innings. I think at the moment he is actually overrated as a player, not saying he is not good but surely not the best in the world. He is a good player across formats who will continue to score runs, that's about it.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Junaid is absolutely correct here that Babar acquired the captaincy without facing any significant challenges which is why he is actually not responding or taking it seriously.

I think when a team has two different captains for various formats play in a game, so it creates some pressure on u to improve else other will take over, that competition keeps u motivated and focused.

 

[Hitman]

"As a player Babar Azam is the world’s number one ...."

Did he say that with a straight face?

 

[Suleiman]

Junaid been talking a lot of sense lately. If he didn’t get injured who knows how good he’d be atm.

Getting injured under the PCB is essentially a career death sentence as a fast bowler.

 

[hafizexpress]

Junaid been talking a lot of sense lately. If he didn’t get injured who knows how good he’d be atm.

Getting injured under the PCB is essentially a career death sentence as a fast bowler.

His short career and impact are severely underrated. Junaid successfully took the reigns as the spearhead of the attack at a very crucial time for Pak and he had the ability to move the new ball and reverse the old one. There was a stat at one point in 2014 which was that Pakistan win 77% of the matches that he takes at least 3 wickets in. He was an elite wicket-taker who took big wickets. He was successful both at home and away tours. What a loss for Pakistan. He wasn't very naturally talented but he was fit and was a hard worker. That 2014 injury ruined his career and you could see a shadow of his former self in the 2017 series vs Australia and the Champions Trophy, but unfortunately he could not sustain good performances.

 

[Suleiman]

His short career and impact are severely underrated. Junaid successfully took the reigns as the spearhead of the attack at a very crucial time for Pak and he had the ability to move the new ball and reverse the old one. There was a stat at one point in 2014 which was that Pakistan win 77% of the matches that he takes at least 3 wickets in. He was an elite wicket-taker who took big wickets. He was successful both at home and away tours. What a loss for Pakistan. He wasn't very naturally talented but he was fit and was a hard worker. That 2014 injury ruined his career and you could see a shadow of his former self in the 2017 series vs Australia and the Champions Trophy, but unfortunately he could not sustain good performances.

That brief period where we had him and Irfan opening the bowling was an underrated mini era of fast bowling for us. Both were world class until injury.

It was Junaid + Irfan + Wahab + Ajmal with Afridi / Hafeez

All of 2012-2013 was single-handedly carried by our bowling attack as our batting had the durability of a literal wet paper bag.

Misbah would help us limp to 200-240, maybe 250 on a good day after we’d 30-2 or 30-3 almost every time, and the bowling would fight tooth and nail to win.

 

[ads101]

The damage is already done. Babar will be removed from captaincy and it will take a toll on his form and harmony in the side. You could get the same thing that happened to Pietersen, Malik etc. It is going to feel humiliating for Babar if he’s forcibly removed. And it’s not his fault, if you are offered captaincy you don’t turn it down.

Probably why it isn’t worth the risk making your best player captain. Especially when he isn’t a proven domestic captain.

Why I just feel sad for Babar, I don’t get angry about his captaincy or blame him. It really isn’t his fault at all.

 

[Firebat]

The guy has not improved an iota since the day he was made captain, it's actually remarkable.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Former Pakistani pacer Junaid Khan voiced strong criticism of Babar Azam's captaincy during an interview in a Podcast

"Babar had not improved as a captain. If you see Sarfaraz Ahmed, he kept improving day by day. We won the Champions Trophy under his leadership, became World No.1 in the T20Is. People say we became ODI No.1 team under Babar’s captaincy. But we became No.1 by playing against weak teams. Babar is not a quick learner. He is a world-class batter but his captaincy was not up to the mark."

"Look at Pat Cummins, he won the ODI World Cup for Australia. He is aggressive, he walks the talk. Virat Kohli also struggled but he has that aggression. He struggled after MS Dhoni retired, but he still has a good record."

"People will say Dhoni and Stephen Fleming were not aggressive but they know how to lead a side. Babar doesn’t had those traits. You need to show aggression to boost the boys. He has captained all the formats for four years but there was no progress."