Pakistan Legends tear apart Babar Azam and Co. after ludicrous World Cup campaign, calls for captaincy change

Pakistan are almost on the brink of being eliminated from the 2023 ODI World Cup. They started with two wins but then suffered three consecutive defeats, and the last one against Afghanistan will haunt them for a long time. Having lost to arch-rivals India and five-time champions Australia, Babar Azam and his team hoped to get back on the winning track against 'minnows' Afghanistan. 

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However, the former champions were taken aback by a dominant display from their Asian rivals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday. Despite setting a competitive target of 283, their bowlers failed to cause any sort of trouble to the Afghan batters. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran laid the foundation with a 130-run partnership. Later, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the ship to complete a historic win by 8 wickets. 

It was Afghanistan's first victory against Pakistan in ODIs and dealt a heavy blow to the Men of the Green's semi-final hopes. The former Pakistan players could not digest this disgraceful performance by their national team and they tore into captain Babar and other players. Wasim Akram, Misbah ul Haq, Ramiz Raja, Rashid Latif, Muhammad Hafeez, Aaqib Javed, Shoaib Malik, Moin Khan and Shoaib Akhtar were among those who railed against Babar and Co. 

Aaqib Javed suggests Pakistan's new captain in limited overs cricket

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Former Pakistan all-rounder Aaqib opined that Babar should step down as captain and pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi should take up the role in white ball cricket. "Shaheen is the best bet for the future of Pakistan cricket. Babar has failed to prove himself as an able captain in white-ball formats," the 51-year-old was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain and coach Misbah also slammed Babar's captaincy by pointing out errors in the bowling changes and field placement. 

"He has wasted Haris Rauf by bringing him on in the power play when there are only two fielders outside the circle. Haris was hit in his first over (against Australia) and he lost all confidence. He should be brought on with at least a sweeper at cover and three other fielders on the leg-side deep," Misbah said.

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Razzaq, a former Pakistan all-rounder, criticised Babar's defensive batting style, saying it adversely affects other batters. Notably, apart from a half-century against India and 74 against Afghanistan, the right-handed batter has not scored much in the tournament. His strike rate was also poor in the last game. 

"When Babar bats slowly it has an adverse effect on other batters who then can't play their natural game and this is affecting Pakistan's strike rate in this tournament," Razzaq said.