Mohammad Hafeez has contradicted Babar Azam’s stance on the impact of captaincy on his batting performance.
Babar Azam relinquished his captaincy from all formats following Pakistan’s heart-wrenching exit from the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
“As far as captaincy is concerned, I don’t have much pressure on me or on my batting. I try to give my best in batting. During fielding, I think about captaincy and during batting I just think about the batting,” Babar Azam had said during the World Cup.
Despite Babar Azam’s assertion that captaincy does not affect his batting and that he does not feel much pressure, Hafeez, the newly-appointed Team director for Pakistan, holds a different perspective.
Hafeez expressed these contrasting views during a press conference held on Tuesday in Lahore, underlining his belief that Babar’s performance can reach new heights with the removal of the captaincy responsibilities.
“As a batsman, Babar Azam has immense contributions for Pakistan. Not being captain will release pressure from him. Captaincy definitely adds pressure onto a cricketer, and if someone denies that, they are wrong. With that pressure eased, I think Babar’s performance will get even better. He has already been making excellent contributions for Pakistan cricket, and I think he will further enhance his performance to help Pakistan achieve success,” Hafeez said.
