Amidst the heavy criticism over Babar Azam’s captaincy, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja came out in support of the underfire skipper after several questions were raised over his role after their team’s 0-3 drubbing against England in the home Test series.
However, Raja admitted that there is scope for improvement in Azam’s captaincy but stressed that he does not have a bad track record as a captain, citing the team’s brilliant performance against Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in Test cricket.
Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube channel: “This is the first time that he has gone through such a phase in his captaincy tenure. Against Australia, we salvaged a great draw and lost one match in the last 10-15 minutes. We did well against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Tests. He doesn't have a bad track record.”
Warning PCB against removing Babar as Test captain, he added, “There is scope for improvement in his captaincy. He is just 28 years old and is going to learn with time. But if you remove him, you need to understand that it will affect the balance of the team.”
Stressing on the importance to empower Babar as captain, Raja noted: “It is very important to empower the captain. Babar Azam deserves it. I come from a time when the captain became a larger-than-life character after being empowered. When I was the captain, I did not have the power to govern. We were always struggling because I became a half-skipper.”
The former PCB chief also revealed that he had a four-hour long session with Azam five days before the ongoing Test series against New Zealand at home.
Raja signed off by saying, “So, when Babar is leading the team, we need to let him play his best XI. You can ask questions when he slips. Questions were raised by everyone after the England series. I had a four-hour session with him just five days before the New Zealand tour.”
