Shoaib Malik has suggested that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam should resign from the Pakistan captaincy to concentrate on his batting and “make more records on an international level.”

The controversy over Babar’s future as captain of Pakistan refuses to die down ever since Shadab Khan was named the stand-in skipper for the T20I series against Afghanistan last month when Babar was rested. The move gave rise to rumours that Babar may lose his role as captain after Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi confirmed that there were talks around the future of Babar’s captaincy. However, he later cleared the air, confirming Babar would continue.

Malik, however, feels that the 28-year-old should look to relinquish the role, as the ongoing speculation could affect his batting. Speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Score’, he said, “Babar Azam is a great batter but we do injustice by putting his leadership qualities and batting ability on the same scale. This [giving up captaincy] will help Babar Azam make more records on an international level as the pressure on him will be limited to his batting.”

He also stated that Babar’s leadership still required improvement and that he would take time to mature and that the people who were advising him should suggest walking away from the top role.

Babar was named the skipper of Pakistan in all formats in 2020. He has led Pakistan in eight Test wins (from 18 games), 13 ODI victories (21 games) and 42 T20I wins from 69 clashes. He also guided the team into the final of the T20 World Cup last year.