'You do have players like Shadab, Rizwan...': Pakistan's Afridi wants Babar to relinquish captaincy after T20 World Cup

Even though Pakistan made it to the final of the T20 World Cup 2022, legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi has demanded the resignation of captain Babar Azam following the conclusion of the ICC event in Australia. After making a disastrous start to their World Cup campaign, the Babar-led Pakistan side defied all odds and miraculously qualified for the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup.

The Green Army then hammered Kane Williamson-led New Zealand to set a date with Jos Buttler's England in the T20 World Cup final. However, Pakistan failed to end its ICC trophy drought as the Babar-led side was outplayed by England in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan's go-to batter Babar capped off a forgetful campaign with the willow as the leader of the Green Army only scored a single half-century in the T20 World Cup.

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Talking about Babar's forgetful run at the T20 World Cup as a premier batter of the Asian giants on SAMAA TV, former Pakistan skipper Afridi urged the star player to step down as the leader of the Green Army. "Babar was not happy with the management at Karachi Kings as it is. I feel he should take a tough call and quit captaincy in T20 cricket. He should focus on his batting and lead the team in Tests and one-dayers," Afridi said.

The former World No.1 T20I batter amassed 124 runs in 7 matches at the World Cup. Afridi feels white-ball specialists Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood are leading candidates to replace a struggling Babar as the T20I captain of the 2009 world champions. "I respect Babar a lot and that's why I don't want him to take the pressure of captaincy in T20 cricket. I want him to focus on his captaincy in longer formats. You do have players like Shadab, Rizwan and even Shan Masood who can lead the team in the T20 format," Afridi added.