Babar Azam has not scored a Test century since 2022.
Legendary Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis says Babar Azam doesn’t perform well under the captaincy pressure, and Pakistan risks losing him as a player. Waqar's remarks were made a few days after England defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the three-match Test series.
Earlier this year, Babar reclaimed the Test captaincy after Pakistan sacked Shan Masood after losing the two-match series to Bangladesh.
Waqar, who has previously had several coaching jobs with the Pakistani men's team, feels that it is unfair to the other players and the eventual job since the right-handed batter finds it difficult to take the strain of the leadership role.
Babar Azam scored 8.6, 7, and 76 runs in his two Test appearances after missing the first one due to a batting injury. He has only struck eight fifties and hasn't reached a Test century since 2022.
Babar Azam also confirmed that he was neither told nor consulted by the Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which decided to sack two coaches and recall seven players after Pakistan lost the first two Tests. Instead, PCB decided to send 7 new players to England for the third Test, with five of them having not played Test cricket.
“I have seen him as a player. Technically, a very sound player. A very complete and elegant player. As a player, I don't personally see anything wrong with him. But I think with the captaincy pressure, he takes somewhat too much on himself. “Whenever he takes this responsibility or is given a responsibility, I don't think he performs that well,” said Waqar during an event.
“So, I think we are losing a player if we are going to give him this responsibility because he struggles to handle that. You have to be strong as a person, and you have to be really out there and back your players. If you cannot back your players, it's unfair to the players and the job,” he added.
Pakistan is currently ninth in the World Test Championship (WTC 2027) standings, with only four points. The team was docked 11 points for a slow over-rate during the third and final Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham.