Is Babar Azam The Worst Captain In World Cup 2023?

First things first, the captain should enjoy the confidence of the team and command the respect of his players. On social media, things look rather hunkydory, but on the field, a different picture is painted...

- RENIN WILBEN

The Pakistan cricket team began their ODI World Cup 2023 campaign with an 81-run win against the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Subsequently, they chased down 345 against Sri Lanka at the same venue, which is a record for the highest total successfully chased in the Men’s ODI World Cup. Since then, though, it has been all downhill for the Pakistan team. They have lost four matches in a row and have slipped to the second half in the points table.

A seven-wicket loss to arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad was followed by a 62-run defeat to Australia in Bengaluru. Pakistan were then stunned by Afghanistan by eight wickets in Chennai. They came close to ending their losing streak when they faced South Africa in Chennai but ended up suffering a heartbreaking one-wicket loss. With four defeats in a row, Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals look very slim. With every loss, the pressure on skipper Babar Azam, as well as his criticism, has grown. And while cricket is a team game, the captain is the leader of the ship. In that sense, Babar has been a failure and perhaps the worst of all captains in the 2023 World Cup.

NO CONTROL OVER TEAM

First things first, the captain should enjoy the confidence of the team and command the respect of his players. On social media, things look rather hunky-dory, but on the field, a different picture is painted. This is not to say that various rumours of infighting and all not being good in the Pakistan team are true. But, from the outside, one thing is perceptibly clear. Babar does not seem to have that control over the team that a leader must possess.