Babar Azam has won four and lost four matches as Pakistan ODI captain.
However, his captaincy tenure has not been as successful as his batting career. He took over the ODI captaincy from Imad Wasim in 2020and has led Pakistan in nine ODIs and has won four and lost four.
The promising batsman received slack for his leadership style from several retired Pakistan players post the 3-0 defeat to a depleted England side.
Former Pakistan wicket-keeper Rashid Latif said that Babar might step down from ODI captaincy because of the added pressure of leading in all three formats.
"Babar Azam has the team's support but not the support as far as performances are concerned in this [England ODI] series. They won their previous few series. Here they have given very bad performances but we will still give margin to Babar. This T20 series and the upcoming tour of the West Indies is crucial for Babar’s captaincy," said Latif on Cricket Baaz YouTube channel.
"I think if it goes south, Babar might have to relinquish the captaincy after the West Indies series in order to preserve his own performances. I think he might be asked to step down or he could make the decision himself if they fail miserably in the series against West Indies,” he added.
Pakistan’s previous long-term ODI captain was Champions Trophy 2017 winner Sarfaraz Ahmed. He has sacked post the 2019 World Cup debacle. Mohammad Hafeez and Wasim were tried out for two games each before the board handed over the reins to Azam.
Pakistan is currently playing England in a three-match T20I series. They won the first match by 31 runs.