Babar Azam might have to step down as captain post West Indies tour if results don't improve, reckons Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif is of the opinion that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam could be asked to step down as the team's leader after the West Indies tour if the team fails to produce adequate results under his captaincy. 

Babar Azam, who took over the reins from Sarfaraz Ahmed in 2019, suffered his first ODI series defeat only last week, against an inexperienced England side that handed the visitors a 3-0 whitewash. Still the pressure is mounting on Azam, who is leading Pakistan across all formats, facing hurdles of challenges in his almost two-year captaincy career. And according to Latif, the Pakistan talisman might have to give up on captaincy to ensure that his performances don't dip with the bat. Rashid is of the opinion that the T20I series against England and West Indies will be a litmus test for Azam's captaincy career. 

"I think if it goes south, Babar might have to relinquish the captaincy after the West Indies series in order to preserve his own performances. I think he might be asked to step down or he could take the decision himself if they fail miserably in the series against West Indies," Latid said on Cricket Baaz's YouTube channel.

“Babar Azam has the team's support but not the support as far as performances are concerned in this [England ODI] series. They won their previous few series. Here they have given very bad performances but we will still give margin to Babar. This T20 series and the upcoming tour of the West Indies is crucial for Babar’s captaincy," Latif added. 

Babar Azam has so far stood as Pakistan's captain in 35 international matches across all formats and has won 22 matches while tasting defeats in just 10 games. Pakistan had a tremendous start in the T20I series after they won the first match by 31 runs against England in Nottingham, and will look to seal the series when they face the hosts in the second T20I on Sunday.