Cricket World Cup - Major Development In Babar Azam's Pakistan Captaincy Future. Report Claims Teammates Have "Advised" Him To...

Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam has been advised against putting in his papers by his national teammates even as he has rested case with the Pakistan Cricket Board headed by Zaka Ashraf to take a call on his future. Pakistan finished fifth in 10 team table and missed out on semi-final qualification, leading to a lot of criticism from former players, who has sought a change in leadership.

"Babar has already spoken to his teammates, and majority of them advised him not to step down himself. He will come out with a clear line of action once he returns home with the team after failing to make the semi-finals of the World Cup in India. But, he will not step down himself," a PCB source told PTI.

Babar has a strong following in the team and likes of Imam ul Haq, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf are players considered to be close to the Pakistan skipper.

In fact, last year when there were talks about removing Babar from Test captaincy had gained traction on social media, some of the players had then taken to social media to show their solidarity with a hashtag "Sochna Bhi Mana Hai" (Don't even harbour such thoughts).

With Pakistan facing two challenging tours - to Australia and New Zealand - shortly after the World Cup, Babar is wants to continue as the national skipper across formats.

"He will most probably leave the decision of whether he should remain captain or not up to the Pakistan Cricket Board headed by Zaka Ashraf,” a well-informed source close to the skipper said.

Babar was first named the white-ball captain for the 'Green Shirts' in late 2019 after the World Cup in England (where they failed to make it to the semi-finals), replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Besides, he was also appointed Test captain in 2021, taking