“Oh Babar, the Same Mistake Again”

“Even thinking is not allowed.”(sochna bhi mana he )

KARACHI:

You may recall that in past when discussions were ongoing about removing Babar Azam from captaincy, such tweets had also surfaced. At that time, Babar, Rizwan, and Shaheen were very close friends. Cricket authorities began to feel that this group had become more powerful than them. All of them were under the “shadow” of the same influence. The entry of new cricketers into the national team was almost blocked, and even selectors had little say. There were reports of dictation being given regarding central contracts. At that point, the board felt that things were getting out of hand.

In such a situation, the classic “divide and rule” policy once used by the British was implemented. Friends were no longer friends. Relationships deteriorated in the race for captaincy, which also harmed the team. Since then, the situation has never truly improved. One incident also came to light where Shaheen told Babar, “If you want to be captain, I will step down.” Babar refused, but just a few days later, he was seen sitting in a press conference as captain, outlining his plans.

In trying to eliminate player power, the board ended up destroying team unity. Although players still sit together now, that old friendship no longer exists. Babar Azam has been made captain multiple times and then removed again. He has a massive fan following; even if the team loses a World Cup under his captaincy, both genuine supporters and those “in the shadows” launch social media campaigns making it seem like Pakistan didn’t play poorly it was the opposition’s fault for playing well.

The current environment suits the selectors. Pakistan is at the bottom of the ICC Test Championship standings and second-last in rankings. Even Bangladesh has defeated Pakistan in two series. If, God forbid, results worsen, the “Babar Army” will be ready to defend him.

Removing Shan Masood from captaincy was absolutely the right decision. With 12 losses in 16 Tests, he is the second most unsuccessful Pakistani captain. At number one is Misbah-ul-Haq, who has now appeared in a press conference as a selector,perhaps reminding people of his current role. He is among those “fortunate” mentors whose salary continued. Misbah, Aaqib, and another non-cricketer campaigned to make Babar captain, and no one questioned them.

Chairman Mohsin Naqvi simply acted on the recommendations given to him. Would it not have been better to hand leadership to someone else and let Babar focus on his batting? His last Test century came in December 2022 against New Zealand. Since then, in 16 Tests, he has scored only 836 runs with just four half-centuries, averaging 26.96. Now he has been pushed back into captaincy again. If he fails to score runs, it will ultimately hurt the team.

The selection committee dropped Shaheen Afridi for not playing domestic cricket. This raises the question: how many domestic first-class matches has Babar played? None. I am not against Babar,in fact, I admire him as a batter but one wonders who his advisors are, who fail to stop him from being repeatedly used. Why does he keep accepting captaincy? What special benefit does it offer, other than a slightly higher daily allowance? Captaincy is often described as a crown of thorns. Whether it’s Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli, who has truly thrived in this role?

I agree that Pakistan currently lacks strong options, even Imam-ul-Haq seemed eager to join this “race.” The best approach would be to first finalize the playing XI and then appoint the most suitable captain among them, regardless of seniority. If Saud Shakeel has injury issues, then why was so much time invested in Salman Ali Agha in T20s?

It seems possible that Babar was told he would also be made captain in ODIs and T20Is, which convinced him to accept. However, he should remember the past. Let me tell you that even before his return, dreams have already been shown to two other players regarding T20 captaincy. The selectors who are currently surrounding Babar may step aside and put all the blame on him if results do not go well in the next series.

In Pakistan, nothing is guaranteed. It’s even possible that Abbas might be made captain in the future. Therefore, Babar should be mentally prepared. He has already lost many valuable years in the pursuit of captaincy. He was once ranked among the top five batters in the world; now he is down to 19th.

Babar’s fans may not like my words and may criticize me on social media, but I will still say that a cricketer of his caliber should focus solely on his batting. Time and again, he knowingly makes the same mistake.

As a Pakistani, I sincerely hope he performs brilliantly in the West Indies and England and leads the team back to winning ways. However, the problem is that if he focuses too much on batting, captaincy issues arise and if captaincy dominates his mind, his batting suffers.

After such a long time, it felt like we might finally see the old Babar again but now he has once again placed himself in a challenging situation. All we can do now is pray for his success.