Thursday, October 2, marks a dark day in Pakistan cricket as their star batter Babar Azam sent shockwaves to the world after he announced his resignation. The decision was taken following Pakistan's disastrous show at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the Men in Green failed to even qualify past the group stage.
"I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men's cricket team," part of the statement said. "It's been an honour to lead this team, but it's time for me to step down and focus on my playing role. Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it's added a significant workload. By stepping down, I will gain clarity moving forward and focus more energy on my game and personal growth," read Babar's message for his fans.
Babar's resignation stemmed from two reasons: poor results with the bat and frequent defeats as captain. Interestingly, despite the resignation, nothing much has changed within Pakistan cricket for good, and the team is still where Babar left it a year ago.
In the past year, several players have led Pakistan but failed to win any trophies. Nonetheless, this article will look into how these captains have performed in the past year and whether PCB was right by letting Babar go or the board made a grave mistake by not convincing Azam to continue playing.
Babar Azam's stats as Pakistan Captain and how it has affected his batting Firstly, let's look at Babar Azam's records as captain for Pakistan
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Babar Azam's Batting record affected by Captaincy?
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How has other Pakistan captains performed since Last Year Since Babar Azam's ODI and T20 resignation, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha have led the team in ODIs and T20Is. Lets look at their performance and how has their batting been impacted in the last year.
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Babar Azam Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Mohammad RizwanSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Salman Ali Agha Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Matches CaptainedSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 148Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 24Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 30Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table WinSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 84Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 9Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 17Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table LossSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 52Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 15Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 13Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table DrawSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 4Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 0Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 0Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table No- ResultSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 8Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 0Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 0Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Win%Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 56.7%Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 37.5%Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 56.6%Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Comparing batting averages of captains with Babar Azam CriteriaSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Babar Azam Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Mohammad RizwanSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Salman Ali Agha Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
InningsSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 148Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 24Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 30Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table RunsSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 6739Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 726Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 557Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table AverageSelect Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 49.76Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 33.26Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table 25.32Select Add Row Above Add Row Below Add Column Right Add Column Left Delete Row Delete Column Delete Table
Key Observation If we look at the stats, then Babar Azam boasts a far superior record as a captain and as a batter as well than Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha. Babar beats the likes of Rizwan and Agha in terms of experience and also averages 49.76 across all formats, which is way better than Rizwan and Agha, who even struggle to touch the 40 average mark. Even when it comes to captaincy, Babar has a win percentage of 56.7 and only Salman Agha has matched Babar's stats with a good show in Asia Cup 2025. However, Rizwan lacks there as well and can only boast a 37.5% win ratio. Conclusion If we look at the motive behind Babar Azam's resignation as captain, he wanted to improve as a batter. However, he hasn't got enough opportunities since then and most importantly, he still boasts a great record of 49.76 average, which is better than the current captains.
Thus, Pakistan should revert to Babar as their captain in the shortest format of the match heading into the 2026 T20 World Cup.
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Babar Azam for Pakistan - (Source : AFP)
