The former South African skipper, one of the leading batsmen in the world of cricket, AB de Villiers weighed in on Babar Azam’s decision to step down as the skipper of Pakistan’s white-ball team captain.
Last night, Babar announced his decision to step down as white-ball captain and said now he needed to focus on his role as a player and his development.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had reappointed Babar to be the skipper of the national team on 31st March for T20I and one-day internationals. He had earlier ended his years-long stint as skipper back in November 2023, when he had resigned as captain of the national side.
Backing Babar’s decision, De Villiers said this could be a great opportunity for the star batter to come back to his best.
Responding to Babar’s X post, he said, “Congrats. You’ve been great. Now for plenty more runs for your team.” A day earlier, while talking about his role as the skipper, Babar said captaincy had been a rewarding experience, but it added extensive workload. “I want to focus on my performance and enjoy my batting while having some quality time with my family to keep me happy, he asserted.
“In doing so, this will provide me with more clarity going forward, and I will be in an even better position to focus more energy on my game and self-improvement,” he wrote.
The star player was grateful and assured supporters that he is equally excited to continue to make his contribution to the team as a player:.
This is the second time Babar leaves the captaincy of the national side. He bowed out from captaincy amid severe criticism when Pakistan failed to perform in the Asia Cup and continued doing the same performance into the World Cup, where they crashed out before the semis.
