Mohammad Azharuddin advises Babar Azam to relinquish captaincy in one format

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has advised Pakistan skipper Babar Azam to relinquish leadership duties in one format to make sure that it doesn't take a toll on the 28-year-old.

Azharuddin advised Babar to encourage him to grow and flourish a lot more as a cricketer and concentrate on improving his dynamics. Notably, Azhrauddin himself is regarded as one of the greatest captains of India.

Different captain for different formats: Mohammad Azharuddin

“Behtareen batsman hai (He is an excellent batter). He is consistent as well. Captaincy is an issue. He has led Pakistan really well so far,” the 59-year-old said on former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali’s YouTube channel.

With regards to Babar Azam, Azharuddin very specifically stated that the 28-year-old is a world class player and a cricketer of great repute. But many a times Babar has not been up to the mark both as a player and as a captain. Being a captain and being a player are two completely different roles, and not everybody can balance both with the same intensity simultaneously.

With regards to Babar's captaincy, Azharuddin was very clear in his stance. He distinctly stated that the pressure that comes with playing international cricket day in and day out is immense, and with the changing formats and dynamics it should only be fair that all cricket playing teams adopt the policy of 'different format, different captains'.

“Now the time has come that every team should have a different captain for different formats. The pressure is immense. At some point, he will have to give up captaincy in one format,” Azharuddin said.

In a very recent press conference, Babar had brushed off a question asked to him about giving up captaincy. “I don’t have to justify myself to anyone. I know how I am doing. My focus is on performing well for Pakistan,” he had said.

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