Babar Azam made a shocking announcement a few days back by quitting as the white-ball captain of Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seemingly confirmed his future as the captain in its recent release. But Babar decided to step down. A PCB insider has now revealed the reason behind Babar's resignation.
Speaking to PTI, the insider revealed Gary Kirsten's role in Babar leaving the job. Babar was reportedly unhappy with Kirsten's observations and recommendations and felt that he was solely being blamed for the team's below-par performance.
"Babar was not happy with the observations and recommendations of Kirsten and even assistant coach, Azhar Mahmood and felt he was solely being blamed for the disappointing performances," an insider told PTI.
"He had indicated to the cricket board after some parts of Kirsten’s report became public that he was not interested in remaining captain."
Babar-led Pakistan had a forgettable run at the 2024 T20 World Cup and they crashed out from the league stage of the tournament. The Men in Green suffered a defeat against the USA in the league stage of the tournament.
They were on course to a win against India but lost the track in the middle overs. The defeat against India ended their hopes and Pakistan failed to make it to the second stage for the first time since 2016.
Under Babar, the Men in Green made it to the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. They played the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they lost to Australia.
Who can replace Babar Azam as captain?
Recently, Geo News reported that Mohammad Rizwan is likely to be the strongest contender to replace Babar. The wicketkeeper-batsman has led Pakistan in two Tests so far. Shaheen Afridi replaced Babar as the T20I captain but he was removed after just one series.