Win percentages and what-ifs: Babar Azam’s legacy as Pakistan captain is hard to assess

Pakistan were knocked out of the tournament before the semi-finals, having lost to India, Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and England. Before the tournament, they were tipped as potential title contenders, not long off the back of reaching the No.1 spot in the ICC men’s ODI rankings for the first time back in May.

There were some warning signs of what was to come in the Asia Cup, where they failed to reach the final and lost to India and Sri Lanka. Following that competition, there were also rumours of dressing room tensions between the senior playing group, with Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi alleged to have had a disagreement.

However, it wasn’t until the losses started wracking up during the World Cup that Babar came under sustained pressure to step down from the captaincy. Despite reportedly being asked to continue as Test captain, he opted to give up the leadership across formats. Shan Masood has been named as Test captain, and Afridi will take over in T20Is – an ODI captain is yet to be announced.

Babar’s legacy as Pakistan captain is a tricky one to assess. He led the Test side in 20 matches between 2021 and 2023, winning ten, drawing six and losing four. His tenure as captain started with a historic series win over South Africa – winning both Tests in the series to secure Pakistan’s first series win against South Africa since 2003.

That was followed up by a series win over Zimbabwe, a drawn two-match series in the Caribbean and a win in Bamgladesh. From there, however, his record goes dramatically downhill. Having drawn the first two Tests against Australia on turgid pitches, Pakistan capitulated in the final game to lose their first series against Australia on home soil since 1998.

When England travelled to Pakistan at the end of 2022, Babar found himself on the receiving end of a Bazball annihilation. In comparison to England’s aggressive approach, positive captaincy and ability to force results on flat decks, Pakistan looked predictable, unimaginative and yards behind the pace at which England dictated the game be played.

[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]

In some ways, there’s a case for Babar’s Test captaincy being hamstrung by the type of pitches Pakistan prepare for touring sides. They are so difficult to force results on that they almost negate the same degree of home advantage other sides enjoy. Nevertheless, Babar’s captaincy stopped short of forcing the kind of urgency which could have allowed them to impose their will. The constant rotation of players should also be acknowledged as having a role in that.

As for white-ball captaincy, ironically given it was the side’s performance in an ODI tournament that was his downfall, Babar’s legacy is much stronger. He led Pakistan to their first men’s T20 World Cup final since 2009 in Australia last year. Reflecting a year later, Shaheen limping off halfway through England’s chase seems a seismic moment.

Babar has the best win percentage of any Pakistan men’s captain (69.64 percent), having led the side in 28 matches and won 19. As previously mentioned, Pakistan became the No.1 ODI side in the world under his leadership, and recorded series wins over South Africa, Australia and the West Indies.

But, how you perform in major tournaments is what defines a captain, and the 2023 World Cup disaster will be the parting memory of Babar’s captaincy.

Who do you think should replace Babar Azam as Pakistan captain?#PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/ZxxUE9uYRa

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 15, 2023

There’s something to be said here for the atmosphere in which Babar had to operate as captain. The Pakistan captaincy role is arguably the hardest in international cricket, with intense scrutiny from fans, loud and near-constant commentary from prominent figures in the national game and political instability in its governance. The chaotic string of PCB updates on the day of Babar’s departure is enough to illustrate the volatility of the situation.

The other factor which should be considered in Babar’s captaincy is his importance to the side as a batter. Like so many other captains, he was given the job not off the back of leadership experience but that he was certain of his place in the side in all three formats. Pakistan heavily rely on him – particularly in white-ball formats – to score runs and mitigate for the failings of others. That’s led to increased criticism of his T20I strike rate, even though the preservation of his wicket is key to Pakistan’s method of winning matches, and that he was unable to translate fifties into big scores during the ODI World Cup was one of the reasons the side struggled.

To Babar’s credit, however, unlike so many others, captaincy can be said to have had a limited impact on his run-scoring. In Tests and ODIs, he averages more as a captain than he did as a player and has scored 20 of his 30 half-centuries in T20Is as captain. The records he could break continuing as a player in the side are staggering to think of.

Nevertheless, despite the successes Babar led Pakistan to and the mitigating circumstances for some of his failures, the mark he leaves is best assessed by how he leaves his side. Babar came in at the end of Pakistan’s post-2019 World Cup clear-out, when Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked as captain. In the short term, he managed to turn around a dismal run in the Test format and continue the momentum which had been building in the white ball arena.

But, the situation he now leaves the side in is with a new captain barely hanging onto his place in the XI and an ODI side short on quality spinners and an unpredictable batting lineup. He hasn’t been able to break the cycle of chaotic axings for Pakistan captains or leave an indelible mark on the side.