World Cup 2023: Mohammad Yousuf lashes out at Shoaib Malik, supports Babar Azam's captaincy

A dominant India walked all over Pakistan in the ICC World Cup round robin fixture on Saturday. With this victory, India extended their winning streak against their neighbours in World Cups. Following this defeat, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik spoke about Babar Azam and suggested he might benefit as a player if he steps down as Pakistan captain. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table Speaking during a debate on A Sports in Pakistan, Malik said, “I gave an opinion in the past as well that Babar Azam should leave captaincy. This is my personal opinion. Babar does not think out of the box as a captain. He is doing captaincy but the improvement is not coming. He can do wonders for Pakistan as a player.” Malik then went on to add that Shaheen Shah Afridi should be given the leadership of the Pakistan team as he had shown the ability to be an attacking captain in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with Lahore Qalandars.

These comments, however, did not resonate too well with former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Yousuf who said that the timing of such a suggestion was not good, especially after the defeat against India. Yousuf said that during the World Cup, it was crucial to support the captain rather than make critical comments. “Imran Khan captained in 1983 and 1987 and lost both times before winning on his third attempt in 1992. Any good player should be allowed to continue as a captain for a long time. He is the captain because he has the ability,” he said on Samaa TV. The former Pakistan captain was also not very impressed with Wasim Akram for not intervening and stopping Shoaib Malik from questioning Babar Azam’s captaincy. “It surprises me that Wasim Akram, present on the panel, did not intervene,” Yousuf commented. Pakistan have won two and lost one in the World Cup so far. They have beaten Netherlands and Sri Lanka, but then went down to India in a high-voltage clash.