Former Indian star slams Babar Azam over his captaincy in ODI World Cup 2023

Pakistani team is set to take on England during their final game of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Saturday in Kolkata. Babar Azam has been called out for his woeful captaincy during the tournament, One former Indian star has come out and made a huge comment on Babar Azam. 

After winning their first two games of the ODI World Cup 2023, Pakistan stumbled losing four games in a row. Their tournament came back on track after their wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand.

England on the other hand will want to beat Pakistan on Saturday. The English team beat the Netherlands team by a massive 160-run margin on Wednesday. This win has put Jos Buttler and his side into the 7^th place in the table. It also puts the England team in the qualification places for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Former Indian star makes scathing remarks on Babar Azam–

Manoj Tiwary has played a handful of games for India from 2008 to 2016. The former India batter has come out and slammed Babar Azam for his captaincy during the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. This comes just a few days before Pakistan’s final game against England in Kolkata. 

The 39-year-old said “Give the same Pakistan team under the leadership of MS Dhoni, I challenge that this team will be on a winning streak. I feel that Babar could have done better as captain, he needs to be proactive and think one step ahead, for example how he continued with Shadab’s bowling example despite seeing that he was struggling to find his rhythm. I think it is better to remove the struggling bowler if he is not able to deliver properly."

Babar Azam hasn’t had a tournament to remember and many former players have called out the 29-year-old over his batting. Manoj Tiwary further said “Babar is a great player under immense pressure. Blaming him alone for Pakistan’s results is unfair. He has the skills to be among the legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He is undoubtedly Pakistan’s top batter of this era”

One of the biggest criticisms is that Pakistani skipper Babar Azam hasn’t been very proactive. Manoj Tiwary finally said “It is important to have a proactive captain, Babar needs to think out of the box. He should be prepared to modify his plans according to the match situation. At times you need to go against your initial plans when the situation on the field is different,"