The former captain of Pakistan mentioned Rohit Sharma in his advice to Babar Azam
The hopes of the team Pakistan's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup 2023 hang by a thread. With four defeats on the bounce, Pakistan suffered a heart-breaking one-wicket loss to South Africa in Chennai on Friday. In the middle of all the struggles for Pakistan in the ongoing Cricket World Cup, former captain Mohammad Hafeez shared his views on the captaincy skills of Babar. Hafeez feels that despite being in charge of the team for nearly three years, Babar lacks maturity as a captain, adding that it is too early to compare him with the greats of Pakistan cricket.
Hafeez said, “When it comes to Babar's captaincy, that maturity isn't quite there yet. He has been in charge of the team for three years, and the tactical growth hasn't been there either. When he's called a great Pakistani player, then I have doubts about it. Those who say that probably haven't seen the greats of the game—from Pakistan and around the world. Yes, he is a very, very good player. He is not great yet. He has to prove a lot of the right things, and there are stages yet to come in his career. We are putting a tag on him before he's reached those stages. That's pressure on him, and when he's not able to perform in big tournaments, the load of expectations is so high that people then deal with it in the wrong way.”
He further added that “if Babar thinks that the pressure is getting the better of him or that it has affected his game, then he has to decide whether he wants to continue like this or finish his career like some of Pakistan's greatest players. Right now, he is the captain of Pakistan, so we should back Babar. But he has to improve his game in terms of aggression. Rohit Sharma has been successful because he is leading from the front.”