Flood of Memes as Babar Azam Steps Down as Pakistan’s ODI and T20I Captain
In a surprising development, star batter Babar Azam announced his resignation as captain of Pakistan’s white-ball team on Wednesday. The 29-year-old shared the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Babar’s captaincy, which began in 2019, saw Pakistan fail to secure a major tournament victory. Following Pakistan’s poor performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar initially stepped down but was reappointed in March 2024. However, he was unable to lead the team to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Before the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar had been Pakistan’s captain across all formats. After his resignation, fast bowler Shaheen Afridi took over as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood was named captain of the Test team. However, Shaheen’s stint as captain was brief, as he was removed following a 4-1 series defeat against New Zealand.
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Babar later returned as captain for the limited-overs formats, while Shan continued as Test captain. Now, Babar has once again decided to step down, a move that has sparked criticism from fans.
Babar made his Test debut in 2016 against the West Indies and has since featured in 54 matches, amassing 3,962 runs at a strike rate of 54.63. He played his first ODI in 2015 against Zimbabwe, appearing in 117 matches and scoring 5,729 runs at a strike rate of 88.75.
Since his T20I debut in 2016 against England, Babar has played 123 matches, scoring 4,145 runs at a strike rate of 129.08.
Pakistan had a disappointing campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup, starting with a shocking defeat to co-hosts USA on a challenging pitch in New York. This unexpected loss was a major setback, preventing them from advancing past the group stage.
In the near future, Pakistan will play a three-match Test series against England on home soil. The first Test will take place on October 7 in Multan, followed by the second Test on October 15 at the same venue. The series will conclude with the final Test in Rawalpindi from October 24 to 28.
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