Rashid Latif Babar Azam
Rashid Latif Babar Azam. Image Credits: X

Last Update on: November 16th, 2023 at 11:02 am

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has raised questions about Babar Azam’s decision to step down as Test captain, as the latter relinquished the captaincy in all three formats.

Ending all speculations surrounding his future as Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam resigned as captain in all formats on Thursday (November 15). A change in captaincy was very much anticipated after Pakistan’s failure in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 as well as the Asia Cup.

Pakistan entered the World Cup as one of the favorites and kicked off their campaign with a couple of wins. However, their momentum was abruptly halted after suffering four consecutive defeats, including a historic first-ever ODI loss against Afghanistan. Although the Babar Azam-led side managed to secure victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, it proved too late to salvage their campaign.

Rashid Latif furious with captaincy change:

Pakistan eventually finished their campaign at the fifth spot with 4 wins and 5 defeats as they missed out on a semifinal spot for the third time in a row. Throughout the tournament, Babar Azam faced severe criticism for his leadership as not only fans but several former players also openly called for his sacking.

Reports also suggested that there was a rift in the dressing room and the star batsman was also not on good terms with some senior PCB officials. And on Thursday, the right-handed batsman decided to resign as the captain of the Pakistan team in all formats.

“Today, I am stepping down as the captain of Pakistan in all formats. It’s a difficult decision but I feel it is a right time for this call. I will continue to represent Pakistan as a player in all three formats. I am here to support the new captain and the team with my experience and dedication. I want to express my sincere thanks to the PCB for entrusting me with this significant responsibility,” he said.

However, his decision to give up Test captaincy has not been well-received by Rashid Latif. The former cricketer believes there is more than meets the eye. He took to X to question Babar Azam’s decision and stated that a dressing room split could be the reason. He shared a comprehensive list detailing the tumultuous history of Pakistan cricket, writing:

“Rebellions, Division, Fixing, Surrogate and revolts not uncommon to Pakistan Cricket. Why Babar Azam refuse to Lead the Test Format?”

PrinceContent Editor

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Prince Singh is an Author and Editor at Cricketaddictor. Prince has been associated with the organisation for more than 5 years and in this time period, he has written close to 20000 articles for the website.