Mohammad Hafeez has questioned whether Babar Azam should be considered a ‘great’ Pakistan player, and said that those who give him that label “probably haven’t seen greats of the game”.

Hafeez was speaking on a TV show in Pakistan when he made the comments. “It’s not like his performances are bad,” he said. “As a cricketer, as a player his performances are good but, unfortunately, the expectations from him and the comparisons with him aren’t fair. He is a very, very good player – in the pool of players currently in Pakistan, he is the best player. But when you compare him with greats, then it’s unfair with Babar’s talent.

“When he’s called a great Pakistan player, then I have doubts over it. Those who say that probably haven’t seen greats of the game – from Pakistan and around the world. Yes, he is a very, very good player. He is not great yet. He has to prove a lot of right things – and there are stages yet to come in his career. We are putting a tag on him before he’s reached those stages. That’s pressure on him, and when he’s not able to perform in big tournaments, the load of expectations is so high, that people then deal it in a wrong way.”

Babar scored his 31st ODI half-century against South Africa today (October 27), in Pakistan’s must-win World Cup match. After their consecutive losses to India, Australia and Afghanistan, Babar has face multiple calls to step down from the Pakistan captaincy. Following the speculation over Babar’s future leadership of the side, the PCB issued a statement which urged fans to to “rally behind the team as they strive to make a triumphant comeback in the mega-event”.

“If you’re talking about Babar’s captaincy, I’ve said it before: the maturity and technical growth that should have come in the last three years hasn’t been seen,” Hafeez continued. “He needs to make the decision himself, or the cricket board officials need to: whether we need to take that pressure off Babar, and allow him to become great. Or, see if he can be shine under this pressure.

“If this pressure is troubling Babar, and if he thinks it’s disturbing his game, then he needs to take a call if he wants to continue this way. Or, if he wants to go to that (higher) level with his contributions for Pakistan, where the stage greats of the game have already reached. Babar needs to honestly think about this decision.

“But in these World Cup matches, he should be fully backed and he needs to step up his game as well. He needs to perform and stay in an aggressive zone: other captains have, Rohit Sharma is successful because he is leading from the front.”

Hafeez played 27 T20I under Babar’s captaincy. He retired from international cricket in 2021.

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