Adapt or perish. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has fired an ultimatum to star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan following the side’s T20 World Cup disappointment. Babar and Rizwan have been out of touch for more than a year, and there lack of form was evident during the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament in the group stage, and the team has come under heavy criticism as a result. During a recent interaction, Latif didn’t shy away from expressing his concerns and offering solutions for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.
Latif suggested that Babar made a huge mistake by accepting the captaincy offer from PCB, especially after he himself resigned from the position last year.
“See, after that World Cup that happened in India, things shouldn’t have gone like this. It’s their own thinking that they removed Babar, and Shaheen came forward, but then again, Babar became weak as a captain. Because whoever comes to lead should lead with confidence and it’s my opinion that Babar Azam’s biggest mistake was to accept the captaincy again. If he continues as captain, that will be an even bigger mistake by him. Pakistan has found a great batsman after so many years who is dominating the world; he shouldn’t get involved in this politics,” Latif told GTV Sports.
Latif also urged Babar and Rizwan to change their batting approach, or else leave the team for good. He gave the examples of India veteran Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with the duo announcing their retirement from the format after winning the World Cup last week.
“I would give examples of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to show how they changed themselves. Rohit has changed himself 190 degrees; change is possible because he has become a role model. His IPL strike rate used to be 130-140, but this year it went up to 160. He changed himself. Virat Kohli did the same thing. If these two batsmen can change, then anyone can. I would give Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan 5 matches to change their batting approach in T20Is, and if they won’t, then there should be no place in the team for them,” he added.
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