Zaka Ashraf on Babar's captaincy quit

Babar Azam's resignation from captaincy had numerous reasons behind it, including the disappointment of not reaching the final of the Asia Cup and failing to make it to the semifinals of the ICC World Cup. The discussions surrounding his resignation have not ceased. Critics have repeatedly raised questions about why Babar is still retained as the captain despite the circumstances.

Former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had proposed to relieve Babar of the duties of the white-ball captaincy. In a conversation with the media in Lahore on Saturday (April 6th), the former PCB chairman stated that whenever Babar is leading the team and the team performs poorly in ICC and ACC tournaments, Babar feels frustrated.

Babar wasn't the sole decision-maker in this matter. Ashraf revealed that he had suggested Babar to retain the role of the Test captain while passing on the responsibility of the white-ball captaincy to someone new. However, Babar expressed his desire to step down from the captaincy across all formats if the occasion arises.

Ashraf recalled his past conversation, saying, "I told Babar to retain the captaincy of the red ball. But we want a new captain for the white ball. But he wanted to step down from all formats rather than being the captain. Playing cricket for Pakistan as a regular member is quite challenging, given the pressures of captaincy."

Subsequently, Babar stepped down from the captaincy across three formats. At that time, Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as the T20I captain, and Shan Masood was given the Test captaincy. Recently, Afridi has been replaced, and Babar has been reinstated as the captain of the T20I side, sparking fresh discussions within Pakistan cricket.