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Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)
Pakistan lost against England in the second Test in Multan by 26 runs as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series. It was the first time in 63 years that Pakistan lost three consecutive Tests on the trot at home. Before losing two Tests against England, the Babar Azam-led side lost to Australia earlier this year. Following back-to-back losses under Babar Azam’s captaincy former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi lashed out at Babar Azam for his captaincy calls during the matches.
Afridi was unhappy with Babar taking advice from "outsiders" and not involving the senior members of the squad in the planning process.
“As a captain, I always felt one had to be a good leader and that was possible by uniting all the players. It means that you should discuss your plans with seniors. When you start taking advice from outsiders and not involve seniors, issues come (up),” Afridi said during a discussion on Samaa TV.
Afridi also criticised the Multan crowd for chanting 'ZimBabar' after the Pakistan captain's early dismissal in the second innings of the Test match. It was Babar's second consecutive failure in the second innings in this series after having scored 136 and 75 in the first innings in Rawalpindi and Multan respectively.
If we don’t value our players, the world will also not value them: Shahid Afridi
"We have also witnessed such things in our time. If we don’t value our players, the world will also not value them. No doubt, Babar Azam is the backbone of this team. His performance is not too bad in the series. Wo koi table tennis ya squash ka khel to nahi khelne jata hai jo akele perform kare aur jeetwaye (He doesn’t play table tennis or squash to triumph his team on his own)? We can’t expect enough from an individual unless the XI performs. He is the captain with a lot of responsibilities. He is our hero and he’ll stay a hero," he said.
After losing the first two Tests, Pakistan will look to salvage some pride by winning the third Test scheduled to be played from 17th December at National Stadium, Karachi.