Babar Azam has resigned as Pakistan’s Captain after a lackluster performance in ICC World Cup 2023. Babar Azam has some unbreakable records for Pakistan in all game formats. Babar Azam Captaincy Records speak for themselves as he is among the top Captains Pakistan ever produced. However, Azam is forced to resign due to backstage politics and Pakistan Cricket’s Culture. Is he a bad Captain? What are the Babar Azam Captaincy Records? Let’s Dive In.
Babar Azam Captaincy Record in T20 WC 2021
In T20 WC 2021, Pakistan proved its worth as a unit and became a team to beat. First, in their first match, they won against the most favorite team in the tournament, India. Pakistan had never won against India in World Cups. But that day, Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets, and after that, they finished as table-toppers in the WC 2021.
In the semi-finals, they lost in a close encounter against the champion side of WC 2021 Australia. Babar Azam achieved some personal milestones in that World Cup. He scored the most run-in debut World Cup by any Batsman. He also scored the most runs by any batsman in ICC World T20 2021.
T20 WC 2022
Pakistan’s performance in the 2022 World Cup was different from 2021. Pakistan lost the first two matches against India and Zimbabwe, which was also a bad patch for Babar Azam’s Captaincy Record. But after winning three matches against South Africa, the Netherlands, and Bangladesh, Pakistan managed a spot in the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, they won against New Zealand and made it to the finals of the T20 WC for the third time. In the Finals, they lost against 2019 WC champions England.
First Captain to Win against India in World Cups
From 1992 to 2021, Pakistan never won against India in World Cups. Pakistan lost 7 times in the ODI World Cup and 4 times in the T20 World Cup. But that day, Pakistan changed its history and beat India in the World Cup. India never lost by 10 wickets in T20 World Cups. That was their biggest victory in terms of wickets. That World Cup India cannot play the T20 World Cup semi-finals after 7 years.
Asia Cup
Pakistan played two Asia Cups under the leadership of Babar Azam. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan’s prime bowler in all three formats, was unavailable in the 2022 Asia Cup. Naseem Shah led the charge in the 2022 Asia Cup, bowling very good overs upfront at the start of the innings. He also won the match against Afghanistan by hitting two sixes. Unfortunately, Pakistan lost the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. In 2023, the Pakistan team could not qualify for the Asia Cup Final.
No 1 ODI Team
For the first time in the history of ranking introduction, Pakistan became the No. 1 side in ODI. They won against Australia and New Zealand after 25 and 12 years, respectively. Pakistan beat South Africa on their home soil. Pakistan was a decent team to enter the World Cup and play in the semi-finals. Babar Azam emerged as a good captain in white ball cricket.
Personal Achievements
His individual milestones and Babar Azam Captaincy Records are also great. He holds the record for scoring the most runs in an ODI series, 1400+ runs, which is still a record for him. He was the number one ODI player for more than 900 days.
Babar is the only Pakistani captain to score a century in T20 cricket. He is also the only captain to win the match by 10 wickets while chasing 200+ runs. Babar is the first Pakistani player to score three centuries in T20 cricket. Pakistan must make brave decisions to improve its cricket and avoid backdoor politics that would spoil this sport.
Babar Azam Captaincy Records
He captained Pakistan in a total of 43 matches and won 26 matches. The winning percentage of Babar Azam is 63%, which is the highest for any captain who played more than 40 matches for Pakistan as captain. Babar Azam’s Captaincy Record was not bad at all, but flaws in his leadership became a big reason for his removal.
