'Everybody in Pakistan was surprised': Imad Wasim makes staggering Babar Azam captaincy remark
Imad Wasim revealed Pakistan's reaction to PCB's u-turn in white-ball captaincy before this year's T20 World Cup.
Following Pakistan's poor performance at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar Azam was removed from the side's white-ball captaincy, and the role was handed over to Shaheen Shah Afridi. But after only six months, the PCB once handed over the captaincy to Babar ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
But Pakistan failed to impress at the T20 World Cup, and even Babar disappointed. Imad Wasim, who was part of the squad, revealed that the entire squad was surprised to see Babar return as skipper.
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What did Imad Wasim say?
Speaking during an interview, he said, "Yes, I was surprised. What can I say, it’s ultimately the selector’s call. Whatever they thought was the best option, they picked and they picked the team [accordingly]."
"Everybody in Pakistan was surprised, not just me. So, I can’t say no that I was not surprised," he added.
Commenting on his side's poor T20 World Cup campaign, he said, "Yeah, our performance wasn't up to the mark to be honest and we have to accept that, including myself. So yeah, but it is what it is. I think we had a good side, but it didn't click. It can happen in any format, especially T20. But yeah, it was disappointing. I was really disappointed. It took me a long time to get over it."
Babar was also snubbed by the PCB, who didn't name him as one of the captains for the upcoming Champions One Day Cup. According to reports, the batter's leadership has been put under the scanner, and is expected to be removed as Pakistan's white-ball captain.
Reportedly, a new Pakistan captain will be appointed for their upcoming tour of Australia. According to reports, white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has already had discussions with PCB officials in July, and Mohammad Rizwan is being tipped as Babar's successor as white-ball skipper, and as captain of all three formats in the future.
