Babar Azam didn't create replacements for top players: Shoaib Malik

The former Pakistani Cricket Team captain Shoaib Malik has pointed out some weaknesses in the strategy of Babar Azam’s Captaincy.

After the consecutive losses in the warm-up match ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023, questions have arisen about the performance and captaincy of the national team.

Pakistani team will kick off their World Cup campaign tomorrow and will face Netherlands in Hyderabad, Deccan.

Speaking to a private TV show, the former captain Shoaib Malik pointed out some weak points in the strategy of Babar Azam’s captaincy, stating that Babar Azam surely improved his captaincy, but as a leader, he failed to make out-of-the-box decisions.

“Pakistan’s prime fast bowlers including Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf played constantly against weak opponents, which resulted in the injury of our bowlers,” he said.

He added that a second line of fast bowlers should be prepared for international cricket by giving them a chance in matches against weaker opponents.

Shoaib Malik stressed that when the regular bowlers are not doing well, Babar should have made the decision to bring in a non-regular bowler to relax the batman which increased the wicket-taking chances.

Speaking about Shadab Khan’s performance, the former captain said that the spinner must take wickets in the middle overs, he emphasized that the Pakistani skipper has to make bold decisions and pay attention to the field set for spinners in the middle overs.