Babar should take the leaf out of Kohli’s book, says Intikhab

Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam has asked Babar Azam to follow former India captain Virat Kohli’s footsteps and suggested that he should consider relinquishing the leadership role to focus more on his batting.

After winning their opening games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan lost two in a row with the Australia setback coming after they were completely outplayed by India last weekend.

Pakistan skipper Babar has struggled to find his form in the ongoing World Cup. The right-hander has managed just one half-century, scoring 50 against India. In a critical game against Australia, Babar failed to make an impact, falling after just 14 balls with a score of 18 in their challenging chase of 368 runs.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Intikhab said: “Babar Azam should take the leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book and must quit captaincy so that he can enjoy his batting and can become one of the greatest batsmen of all time. There is a lot of pressure on Babar Azam from the outside as well as from the inside. I personally feel he should quit captaincy.

“He lacks that character. As a captain, one should be bubbly and calling the shots in the ground. He doesn’t talk much. I hardly see him talking to the bowlers. As a captain, you can’t let your chips down. Against Australia, he looked out of ideas, his shoulders were down. If your bowlers are leaking runs, you need to talk to them, give them plan B if plan A has backfired.”

Pakistan next face Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday.

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