So now Babar Azam is the Test captain too. The 26-year-old has already been the incharge of the national ODI and T20I teams, which means he will have the honour to lead Pakistan in all three formats of the game of cricket. A skipper should be an automatic choice and his selection must not be in doubt so that he does not become a liability on the team. Based on this criterion, Babar is a good choice for the top job — perhaps the best among those available. He figures among the top 10 batsmen on the ICC ranking in all three formats — having been placed at fifth in Tests, third in ODIs and second in T20Is. His batting average in Tests is 45.55 while the same is in excess of 50 in the other two versions of the game.
However, besides being a good performer, a skipper must have some more qualities. He should be able to handle pressure and should be a firm decision-maker. He is supposed to be a father figure with tendency to encourage and confront his teammates as well as emppathise with them. The opinion is, however, divided on whether a skipper should be aggressive in his approach towards the game or appear as a cool customer on the field. Some believe that an army of stag led by a lion is far better than one of lions led by a stag — meaning, a skipper should be bold and aggressive in his demeanour as a player. There are others who think cricket is more of an art where the ability to play mind games takes precedence over passion and aggression.
One, however, believes whether Babar plays it cool or goes about boldly, the key to success as skipper lies in his ability to lead by example. There are examples of players caving under the pressure of captaincy. And there are examples of captaincy bringing the best out of players. It will be interesting to see which class of players Babar belongs.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2020.
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