'Were you here to sell chickpeas?': Wasim Akram criticises Babar Azam's captaincy
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Were you here to sell chickpeas?': Wasim Akram criticises Babar Azam's captaincy")
Babar Azam Photograph: (AFP)
Pakistan great Wasim Akram criticised Babar Azam's leadership during the England tour, questioning his role as captain if he was unaware of significant changes within the team.
Pakistan great Wasim Akram has criticised Babar Azam for his leadership during the team’s tour of England, where Pakistan suffered a 3-0 defeat after making major changes to the squad following the first two matches. Akram was unhappy with Babar’s comments that he was unaware of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s decision to remove coaches Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul, along with seven players from the squad.
Babar had said, ‘It was news to me too’, while adding that questions about the changes should be asked to the PCB.
Speaking at a charity event on Sunday, Akram took a sarcastic dig at Babar and questioned how the captain could be unaware of such a major decision.
“Babar Azam said he did not know. If you don’t know, then what were you doing here? Were you here to sell chickpeas?” Akram asked.
“As a player or as a person, I believe that if your leader or captain does not stand by you, you cannot give 100 per cent,” he added.
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Akram also felt that Babar should either have rejected the Test captaincy when the PCB asked him to replace Shan Masood or stepped down after Pakistan’s second defeat.
“I do not want to blame anyone and I could be wrong as well,” Akram said.
“But in my opinion, Babar should not have taken the captaincy. All of this was unnecessary… My suggestion is that after the second Test, Babar should have said that he would play only as a player,” he added.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar recently called Babar a ‘weak’ personality, while ex-captain Rashid Latif described him as a ‘dummy captain’.