Follow UsPakistan cricket currently is in shambles after the Men in Green succumbed to a heavy defeat in the opening round of the Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand. While Babar Azam’s own batting form was questionable, now there have been questions raised over his tenure as Pakistan’s captain.
Former Pakistan batter and Babar’s cousin, Umar Akmal, has slammed the former captain, alleging that he never tried to ‘build up bench strength’ due to his likes and dislikes.
“Babar was captain for nearly five years most of the time in all formats and he never tried to build up the bench strength due to his likes and dislikes,” Umar told a TV channel.
Umar also narrated a personal incident in which he was ignored despite being in great form with the bat in Pakistan’s domestic cricket. In 2022, the right-handed batter amassed 518 runs at the List A level, averaging 32.38 while still striking 106.2.
“I told Babar that look, give me a fair chance. You are doing well in the top order, and I can be your finisher, and we can win matches regularly, and it will be good for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
“He didn’t listen to me and for five years when he was captain he never bothered to try to build a strong bench because only teams with good back up players do consistently well in all formats,” he added.
During his stint as captain, Babar led Pakistan in 43 ODIs, winning 26 and losing 15 games before Mohammad Rizwan was named captain.