A Hope Amongst The Darkness
From making his debut in 2015 to winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. And then becoming captain in 2019 to resigning as captain in 2023. The career of Babar Azam has everything. And there is no doubt that if not Babar started dominating cricket, this sport might be on death bed in Pakistan like other sports.
Considered as a big thing in world cricket will go down as one of the greats and that is for sure. In this post we won’t talk about his overall career, but only about his captaincy era from 2019 to 2023.
Starting days (2019–2020)
After the 2019 World Cup, when the news of a new captain was circulating, I was so happy because Babar was in the driving seat. And everyone knew that if they changed the captain, Babar would be the first choice because he was performing brilliantly at that time. Then they made him vice captain against SL in 2019, and not only me but everyone else could sense that he was so close to becoming captain. This joy was something else in those days because I never felt so happy about someone’s success as I felt about Babars.
Then it was in October 2019 when PCB announced him captain of the T20i side. That time, I was super happy because it was my dream to see him leading Pakistan at the international level and winning trophies to strengthen his legacy not only in Pakistan but at the international level as well.
Then, going forward, in June and November 2020, they made him captain of the ODI and Test sides as well.That was the time when I realised that half of my dream was complete. My idol is leading Pakistan in all three formats.
The Magical Year (2021)
Now its 2021, the year he captained Pakistan in an ICC tournament. But before that, Babar becoming number 1 in the ICC ODI ranking not only makes me but the whole nation proud and happy. That days in April were the ones when life peaked. Then we headed towards the T20 World Cup. Pakistan cricket team defeated India and almost every player was in the form of their lives. We were favourites to win the tournament, but suddenly one moment broke everything. The whole nation was in shock. Because, till the very last moment, we were the favorites.
But yet, Babar winning ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year alongside Rzwan and Shaheen who became ICC T20i and ICC Player of the Year was a clear indication that the team is going in the right direction.
Still, somehow we controlled ourselves for not winning that tournamet and moved forward to an even bigger year for Babar’s legacy as captain.
The Roller Coaster Year (2022)
It is 2022, and the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup are around the corner. But criticism started to peak after PSL 2022, when KK lost nine out of 10 games and Babar was the captain. But we moved forward, and now it’s time for the Asia Cup, where we played brilliantly until we played against SL. That was the time when not only me but the whole world was certain that Pakistan was easily winning the Asia Cup. And I was certain that Babar was going to win his first trophy as a captain. And it’s the second straight time we’ve been so close to winning a trophy and ended up being trophyless.
Then it’s time for T20 World Cup 22. Entering the T20 World Cup was also a special feeling after seeing your birthday celebrated on Captain’s Day. We didn’t start that tournament well. Two consecutive losses against India and then Zimbabwe sparked fire on social media. I can never forget the toxicity level on social media after we lost against Zimbabwe. Yet we qualified for the semi-final, where you scored a 50, and Pak won that game as well. And now I was certain that, after two heartbreaks, this was our time. It’s our redemption arc. But once again, we were unable to lift the trophy and lost against England in the final.
It was possibly the worst day as a PCT and Babar fan. In the span of 12 months, we lost two finals and a semi-final. Which can add more weight to your legacy. But it didn’t happen, unfortunately. But despite being so close to winning a trophy as captain, winning ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2022 gave us a reason to feel happy about. And that was the end of the roller coaster year. 2022 will always be the year that I never wanted to remember, but you winning the ICC cricketer of the year made me think about that year even more.
Nightmare Turned into Reality (2023)
Now we entered in 2023 with new challenges ahead. The ultimate goal of 2023 was to win the Asia Cup and the World Cup. And one thing was almost certain: this is a make-or-break year for Babar, the captain. All the media agendas were at their peak at the start of 2022.
Pakistan becoming number 1 in the ICC ODI ranking is something we have all dreamed of since our childhood, and finally we will become number 1 in ODIs in 2023 under the leadership of Babar Azam. We saw our ODI side that good after such a long time.
But nothing goes in our favour. Two consecutive losses against India and Sri Lanka kicked us out of the Asia Cup. Nothing clicks well in the Asia Cup. Bowlers got injured, and the main players lost their form. In short, the Asia Cup single-handedly broke our team. Critics increased massively after that loss as well.
And now it’s time for the World Cup, which might be Babar’s last chance as a captain if he doesn’t win. After recent heartbreaks and seeing our squad of 15, Hopes were not the highest, but they were not zero either. I still have that belief in the team that they can put on a show and win the World Cup for Pakistan.
But, like the Asia Cup 2023, the World Cup was also a nightmare for us. The team was unable to live up to expectations properly. And Pakistan couldn’t even make it to the top 4.
Then everyone, including a large number of Babar’s fans alongside me, wanted him to step down from captaincy of at least 1 to 2 formats gracefully. But on November 15, 2023, he decided to step down from the captaincy of all three formats. And this is the day when the “Babat the Captain era” comes to an end. It was a pure roller coaster ride with so many ups and downs.
