'I disagree with him': Shoaib Akhtar makes scathing remark on Babar Azam's captaincy

Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has raised doubts about Babar Azam's captaincy skills ahead of their much-anticipated clash against India in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023. This comes after batting legend Sunil Gavaskar criticized Babar's ineffective bowling changes during their group-stage clash against India. Akhtar didn't mince his words while criticising Babar's captaincy and further suggested he be more aggressive.

3 things you need to know

• India and Pakistan are scheduled to play against each other on September 10
• The match will be part of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 Super Four stage
• The previous encounter between India and Pakistan ended in a draw due to rain suspension

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Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar took a swipe at the Pakistan skipper, suggesting that Babar's bowling decisions didn't make much sense to him. Ahead of India's Super 4 match against Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar echoed similar sentiments and expressed his opinion that Babar should have relied more on his frontline pacers from one end.

"I believe Babar should have utilized his fast bowlers more. He could have kept the pacers bowling from one end and used a spinner from the other. This is where I didn't agree with Babar; he relied too heavily on spin bowlers and compromised our attacking approach," Akhtar said while addressing a press conference on Star Sports.

"He is a far more better captain than he was two years ago. Babar's mindset has to be aggressive he should keep thinking about taking wickets and bowl out the opposition, and not let the bowlers bowl the entire 50 overs," he added.

During the match against India last Saturday, Shaheen Shah Afridi provided the first breakthrough for Pakistan by removing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Indian team lost four wickets within the first fifteen overs. Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill were dismissed by Haris Rauf. With the score at 66-4 in 14.1 overs, India staged a recovery led by Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya.

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Babar's decision to introduce spinners after Afridi's initial breakthroughs backfired, as Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, and Salman Ali Agha failed to trouble the Indian batsmen in the rain-affected match. The spin trio leaked 131 runs in 21 overs against India. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya forged a crucial 138-run partnership for India. 

Upon their return to the attack, Afridi and Rauf once again provided a breakthrough and claimed the crucial wickets of Pandya (87) and Kishan (82) respectively. Young pacer Naseem Shah cleared up the tail for Pakistan, limiting India to 266 runs in 48.5 overs. 

Image: Instagram/ShoaibAkhtar/PCB