Former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned Babar Azam ‘s authority as captain of Pakistan amid turbulence in the national men’s cricket team setup. Calls have been made for Babar to resign from his position as Test captain after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) replaced seven players, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul following the heavy defeat to England in the Lord’s Test last week. Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, former England batter Atherton questioned how Babar would lead the team going forward.
“I feel it’s a horrible position for a captain, Babar Azam, to be in. Placed at the bottom of the World Test Championship points table, Pakistan lost the opening Test to England by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord’s. Pakistan made major changes to their Test setup ahead of the third and final Test against England, which begins on September 9, replacing almost half of their squad.
And what kind of authority does he, or indeed any captain of Pakistan, have in this setup?” said Atherton.
Atherton admitted that while captains no longer hold the same power they did in the past, they still need to command authority within the team. “One understands that the captain is not all-powerful these days. Given what’s happened, how do you lead that team now?” he added. Atherton also suggested that the situation in Pakistan cricket would not improve, even if the team somehow managed to beat England in the third and final Test.
You’re not going back 30 years when captains perhaps ran the show, but they have to have some authority within a team.
