Kapil Dev defends Babar Azam's captaincy after World Cup exit

The pressure on Azam intensified as Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals, losing five out of nine games, including a big defeat against India. That was India’s eighth victory in eight World Cup games against Pakistan. Pakistan also lost to Afghanistan for the first time.

Azam made 320 runs at the World Cup with four fifties at an average of 40 and remains the world’s second highest-ranked batsman.

However, it was his captaincy in India which was questioned when he faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.

While speaking on a YouTube podcast, Kapil defended Azam, emphasizing that judging him solely based on current performance would be unfair. He pointed out Azam’s previous achievements, highlighting that he had led the Pakistan team to the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings just six months prior.

“If you say that Babar Azam is not the right choice [for captaincy] today, it is because you are looking at just his current performance. He was the same captain, who made Pakistan team No.1 [in ICC ODI rankings] six months ago.”

“When someone gets out for zero, 99 per cent of the people would want him to be dropped. If an ordinary player comes and scores a brilliant hundred, then they call him a superstar. So don’t look at just current performance. Look at how he has approached the game, how much passion and talent he has,” Kapil said.