Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi stated that he wanted Babar Azam, Pakistan's current skipper, to prove him wrong with his captaincy during the ICC World Cup 2023 but that didn't happen.
Afridi, who led the Green Shirts in the 2011 World Cup, said that Babar kept on becoming a big player but he didn't improve his captaincy.
"I wanted myself to be proven wrong. I wanted Babar to become a better captain with time, but that didn't happen. Yes, he kept becoming a big player but I wanted him to become as big a captain as he is a player, honestly speaking, I couldn't see in Babar what I was hoping [to see]," Afridi said while talking on a local sports show.
The 46-year-old then went on to talk about the qualities of a good leader saying that he doesn't fear failure and does his best.
"A leader doesn't fear failure, he takes his chances with a full heart, especially when you are a good performer individually and there is no fear of losing your captaincy. He [Babar] has been the captain for four years now and I have never seen someone being a captain for this long, not just that, he also got the support of everyone.
"Why do you think a leader is a leader? Because he doesn't think like the other 10 players in the ground. He [a captain] has to do different [out of the box] things, he takes decisions and faces [the consequences]," Afridi added.
Afridi then urged Babar to take the advice of five to six senior players that are in the squad.
"So I think that apart from the management and coach, Babar should communicate with 5-6 senior players because when you do that, those players start to give their all. I have played in this team, and I know you cannot just ask two to three players and ignore the others, this creates problems. You have to consider them all equally. So when you win, you all win and when you lose, you all lose."
It must be noted that Pakistan were handed a one-wicket loss against South Africa in a nail-biter in Chennai that dented their hopes of playing in the event's semi-final.
That was Pakistan’s fourth consecutive defeat in this mega event — the first time they lost four matches in a single edition of the World Cup.
Pakistan’s chances to qualify for the semi-final of the event have now become a matter of “ifs and buts” because even if the Green Shirts win their remaining three matches — against Bangladesh, New Zealand and England — they would have to rely on other teams' results, which seems nearly impossible.
- Babar Azam
- Shahid Afridi