Babar Azam is the backbone of our team, would want him to join the list of world-class captains: Shahid Afridi

Pakistan’s interim chief selector Shahid Afridi has backed Babar Azam after he failed to prove himself in crunch situations. In 2022, the Men in Green lost in the finals of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup and were also whitewashed by England in the three-match Test series at home. Plenty of former cricketers wanted Babar to step down as Pakistan skipper but Afridi has backed him and wants Babar to join the list of world-class captains.

After taking up the new role, the 45-year-old praised Babar, terming him the "backbone" of the Pakistan team. As the head of the selection committee, Afridi said that he wants to help Babar become a better leader as he is ready to share his experience with him.

“See we are going to run this selection committee taking everyone together as it is not only a captain's team. A lot of things that were pointed out earlier, we would like to cover them because we want good results. Babar Azam is the backbone of our team. We would want him to join the list of world-class captains just the way he is a world-class player,” Afridi was quoted by NDTV.

“So we are basically here to support him and share our experiences [with him]. We think we can help him in certain things where improvement as a captain is possible,” the former cricketer added.

When you lose, such things come up: Babar Azam

Despite facing criticism in the past year, Babar has stayed positive and said that he believes that the team can return to winning ways in the two-match Test series against New Zealand. Babar also mentioned that he is not someone who takes pressure while batting as his game can go down in that case.

“To be honest, I don't take the pressure. If you take pressure, your game goes down. I have a belief that its a new day, a new team and a new match so things will be different. It's our unit and that unity, not that they are supporting me only, they support each other,” Azam said ahead of Pakistan’s first Test against New Zealand.

“When you lose, such things come up. All sportsmen support each other. As a player and as a captain I keep myself in my zone. Yes, we have lost a series but Insha'Allah we will stage a comeback,” the 28-year-old added.