Asia Cup 2023: Ranking top 6 Captains

3. Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Babar Azam was the best captain when it came to Pakistan’s performance in the Group stage. He had an easy win over Nepal and a rained-out game against India. But even during that game, questions were rained on why Babar continued with spin when he had India at 66/4. This allowed India to post 266 runs with Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan adding 138 runs. 

But disappointingly, his captaincy was just not up to the mark in the Super 4s stage. After gaining a dominating win over Bangladesh in Lahore, Babar looked clueless against India in Colombo. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul put up 356/2 in 50 overs, and Babar failed to stem the run flow or do something innovative. 

In the must-win game against Sri Lanka, Babar was given 252 runs to defend. And though his bowlers did all the hard work, poor field placements and captaincy from Babar led to Sri Lanka winning by 2 wickets. Babar has had three years or more to learn the ropes of captaincy, but he still lacks that X-factor and mental acumen for leadership.