Babar Azam responded to criticism of his captaincy in the tournament ahead of Pakistan’s quest to achieve the unthinkable to prolong their stay in India for the 2023 World Cup. He slammed pundits and urged them to directly message him with their ideas and opinions rather than going live on television during the team’s unimpressive World Cup performance. However, if rumours are to be believed, Babar is expected to leave his captaincy role in the white-ball format at the end of the campaign.
It has not been the campaign that Pakistan or Babar had hoped for. They were undoubtedly a semifinal prospect, if not a title contender, but four defeats in the opening half of the tournament, including an unexpected defeat against Afghanistan, left them wounded. And, despite beating Bangladesh and New Zealand, Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semifinals with a game in hand are low.
Despite defending his captaincy, a report in Geo Super suggested that Babar is set to resign from ODI and T20I captaincy roles post the World Cup in India, as he has been seeking advice on his future from former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and people close to him. In fact, on the eve of the England match, Babar was seen having a long conversation with Raja at Eden Gardens.