Pakistan cricket icon Wasim Akram has delivered a stinging critique of Babar Azam’s decision to accept the Test captaincy, saying the star batsman should have stayed away from leadership responsibilities altogether.
Speaking at a charity event in Manchester alongside fellow bowling great Waqar Younis, Akram did not hold back when discussing Pakistan’s disastrous 3-0 series defeat to England earlier this year.
“I do not want to blame anyone, and I could be wrong as well,” Akram began carefully. “But in my opinion, Babar should not have taken the captaincy. All of this was unnecessary.”
The sharpest moment came when Akram recalled Babar’s response during the third Test at Birmingham. When asked about the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to send seven players home and overhaul the coaching staff mid-series, Babar admitted he was unaware of the changes.
Akram’s reaction was scathing. “Babar Azam said he did not know. If you don’t know, then what were you doing here? Were you here to sell chickpeas?” he said sarcastically, using a colloquial phrase that translates roughly to questioning someone’s purpose or competence.
The legendary fast bowler argued that a captain who is kept in the dark about major team decisions cannot effectively lead. “As a player or as a person, I believe that if your leader or captain does not stand by you, you cannot give 100%,” Akram explained.
He suggested Babar should have stepped down after the second Test defeat at Lord’s and continued the tour purely as a batsman. “My suggestion is that after the second Test, Babar should have said that he would play only as a player,” Akram added.
Babar was reappointed Test captain in July, replacing Shan Masood ahead of tours to the West Indies and England. He had previously led Pakistan’s Test side from 2020 to 2023, recording 10 wins, six losses, and four draws across 20 matches.
His second stint started promisingly with a 1-1 draw in the Caribbean, but the England tour turned into a nightmare. Pakistan lost at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, then fell by 194 runs at Lord’s. The PCB’s dramatic mid-series shake-up failed to prevent an eight-wicket defeat at Edgbaston, completing a humiliating whitewash.
Akram’s comments have reignited debate about Pakistan’s leadership structure and whether the country’s best batsman should be burdened with captaincy during a challenging period for the national team. The criticism from one of Pakistan’s most respected cricket voices adds significant weight to ongoing discussions about Babar’s future role.
