Babar Azam's captaincy ridiculed by Pakistan great. PC- AFPPakistan Cricket is in massive chaos after the Babar Azam-led side was annihilated by England 3-nil. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped an axe on seven of its players, along with Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul, out of nowhere after the second Test match. After the chaotic move, the Pakistan board kept Babar Azam in the dark about the major upheaval. Amidst all the drama, legendary Pakistan pacer and former head coach Waqar Younis has criticised the current Test captain, Babar Azam. Waqar Younis says Babar Azam lacks pressure handling as captainWhile speaking at an event, the legendary cricketer, who worked with the Pakistan team in multiple stints, condemned Babar Azam’s decision to take over the Test captaincy. Although he backed the stylish batter, the ace seamer said the captain is placing too much weight on Babar's batting. “I have seen him (Babar Azam) as a player. Technically, (he's) a very sound player. 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 a little too much on himself. Whenever he takes this responsibility or is given a responsibility, I don't think he performs that well,” said Waqar Younis during an event.Also Read: Wasim Akram Slams Babar Azam For Accepting Pakistan CaptaincyFurthermore, the 54-year-old coach said Pakistan are losing a player because of captaincy, adding that if a player is given a leadership or responsibility role he isn't mentally equipped to handle, the team could lose the best version of that player. “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.When PCB reinstated Babar Azam as Test captainAfter the whitewash in Bangladesh under Shan Masood's captaincy, the PCB rewound the clock and reinstated Babar Azam as Test captain ahead of the tours of Carribean and England.Although Babar batted marvellously in the two matches vs West Indies, he could win just a solitary fixture across the two tours. Additionally, the Pakistan Test captain scored 193 runs in four innings in PAK vs WI Tests; Babar was heavily exposed in England, where he registered three single-digit scores before ending the tour with a 103-ball 76. Has Babar Azam fared poorly as a batter under captaincy?If you look closely, Babar Azam has statistically done better with the captain's hat on. Without captaincy duties, he has scored 2754 runs in 79 innings at an average of 38.78, notching five hundreds and 20 fifties. Although his sample size as captain is smaller, Babar’s Test average reaches the north of 50 whenever he leads his national team in the longest format. In 43 innings as Test captain, he has racked up 2017 runs at 50.42, slamming five tons and 14 half-centuries. Additionally, the 31-year-old has registered just a single duck as Pakistan captain out of eight zeroes in Test cricket. Therefore, the statistics do not back Waqar Younis’ claims on Babar Azam and his captaincy.Also Read: Shafali Verma Goes Past Smriti Mandhana In ICC Rankings After Women's Asian Games Heroics
