Ex-chief selector opens up on ‘painful’ dealings with Babar Azam

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Mohammad Wasim opened up about his ‘painful’ dealings with white-ball captain Babar Azam during his tenure.

During an interview with a local media outlet, the former PCB chief selector claimed that the star batter was always reluctant to make changes in the team.

“It was painful to make him understand the advantages of changes. He was very stubborn, and I overstepped my limitations to get him on board with certain calls. He was not ready to accept changes,” Wasim said.

The former batter revealed that at least four Pakistan coaches have called for removing certain players from the team, however, the team management would recall them.

“I will not take names, but four coaches said that a group of players is cancer to the team. If they are part of the squad, Pakistan can’t win. I tried to remove them from the team, but the team management recalled them,” Mohammad Wasim stated.

It is worth mentioning here that Babar Azam’s captaincy and his future in the role came under question following the national team’s below-par performance in the ODI World Cup 2023.

The Greenshirts suffered five losses, the most in their World Cup history, including their first defeat against Afghanistan in ODIs.

In November last year, Babar stepped down as all-format captain after the World Cup 2023.

However, PCB later re-appointed him as the captain of the T20I team for the T20 World Cup 2024, in which Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage.

The Men in Green faced a shocking defeat against the United States of America (USA) in their opening game, followed by a heartbreaking loss to archrivals India.

While Pakistan won their last two games, however, it was not enough for them to qualify for the next round.

It is to be noted here that the star batter was first appointed white-ball captain in 2019 and as Test skipper in 2021.