Rashid Latif said that Babar Azam will now return to form with the bat after leaving the captaincy. Babar stepped down from the role for the second time in 10 months.

The 29-year-old resigned from the leadership role across formats after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India. However, he was brought back as a white-ball skipper before the T20 World Cup 2024. The move backfired, as Pakistan were eliminated from the group stage, with Babar struggling with the bat.

“Babar took time to understand, but he made the right decision. Mohammad Amir, Azam Khan, and Imad Wasim kept him on their toes and played the T20 World Cup as they wanted to. Now they are not part of the team, and Babar’s time will come as he is away from the pressure of captaincy,” he said.

Babar led Pakistan in 148 international games, winning 84 and losing 50. Under his captaincy, Pakistan reached the semi-final and final of the T20 World Cup in 2021 and 2022.

Rashid also urged Mohammad Rizwan to refuse the captaincy if PCB offers him

“Babar damaged a lot of things by becoming the captain. I would urge Rizwan to say no to it as he was not given the responsibility when he was ready.”

“Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, and Salman Ali Agha are the players who can lead Pakistan in white-ball cricket.”

Pakistan’s next shorter formats assignment is in Australia, where the team will play three ODIs and as many T20Is.