"Everyone Turned Against Me, Had To Resign": Pakistan Great's Big Revelation On Suggestion To Drop Babar Azam

Mohammad Yousuf has publicly criticised Babar Azam amid the latter's ongoing struggles in the T20 World Cup, asserting that the former Pakistan captain lacks the requisite skill set to excel in the shortest format of the game. Babar has managed to score only 66 runs across three matches, prompting renewed scrutiny of his place in the playing XI. Yousuf further disclosed that he resigned from his role as a selector because he had proposed dropping Babar from the squad-a recommendation that was rejected, as the entire team management opposed his stance.

"I've been saying this for 2-3 years that Babar's technique has gone for a toss. I've been hearing that he is out-of-form, but he is not. A player can only be out-of-form for two to three series and he has not scored runs for the past two-three years. The moment I suggested resting Babar, everyone suddenly turned against me. I had to resign because of this. He was eventually dropped a couple of series later," Yousuf said on 'How Does It Work?' podcast.

Yousuf also offered a blunt assessment, arguing that mindset alone cannot be considered the issue, as mental strength holds little value without the requisite skill set.

"The churan of mindset is being sold very wrongly. Until you don't have the skill, the mind can't do anything. If you don't have the skill, what will the mind do?" he added.

When asked to compare Babar with players from his own era, Yousuf asserted that Pakistan greats such as Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan, and Zaheer Abbas operated on an entirely different level.

"Inzy Bhai and Saeed Bhai's level can't be matched. They can't be matched. They were very big players. Zaheer Abbas.... These four players were of different categories and levels. Babar is nothing in front of them."

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Babar Azam Mohammad Yousuf Cricket