Go replace him. Imam hopes the Pakistani player still shows respect

Imam-ul-Haq: “Respect him as your captain. If you want to replace him, do so, but remember his contributions… If he has not lived up to expectations, hold him accountable.”

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Pakistan opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq said he wants Babar Azam to continue to be treated with respect if he is replaced as limited-overs captain.

Azam’s future as captain remains unclear, especially after the men in green’s disastrous performance at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the group stage.

Imam admitted that if the 29-year-old has not lived up to expectations, he must be held accountable.

However, he reiterated that people still need to show their appreciation for Azam considering everything he has done for the national team so far.

“Respect him as your captain. If you want to replace him, do so, but remember his contributions… If he has not lived up to expectations, hold him accountable,” Imam told Geo-sports as quoted by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the T20 World Cup, Azam was Pakistan’s highest run-scorer with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike rate of 101.66.

The men in green started their campaign with back-to-back losses to the United States of America and India, before coming back to beat Canada and Ireland.

Pakistan squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

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