“Surrounded himself with friends and selected them” - Former cricketer’s shocking statement on Babar Azam after 2025 Champions Trophy exit

Former Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has blamed Babar Azam's captaincy stint for his downfall as a performer after the side's early exit in the ongoing Champions Trophy. The Men in Green suffered back-to-back losses to New Zealand and India to open their campaign, resulting in their elimination from semifinal contention.

Babar continued his poor run with the bat, scoring a labored 90-ball 64 against the Kiwis and only 23 against India. The 30-year-old is still searching for a three-figure score across formats since the middle of 2023 after amassing 31 tons until that point.

Talking about Babar's batting struggles in a conversation with India Today, Shehzad said:

"It’s sad to see him in this condition. When he started his career, it seemed he would break all records for Pakistan. But now, everything is in front of you—players don’t fail for this long. It was a mistake to make a performer the captain. After becoming captain, he surrounded himself with friends and selected them for the team, disregarding merit."

He added:

"When you favor friends over deserving players, the wheels of domestic cricket stop turning, as genuine performers don’t get enough chances."

Babar captained Pakistan in 148 matches across formats from 2019 to 2024, winning 84 at an excellent win percentage of almost 57. However, after leading Pakistan to the semifinal and final of the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, his captaincy came under severe criticism in the following two ICC events.

Pakistan suffered first round exits in the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups under Babar.

"Dhoni retired, Sachin Tendulkar retired, Yuvraj Singh retired—did the Indian team stop?" - Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad has called on Pakistan to take inspiration from their arch-rivals India on continued success irrespective of personnel changes. While Pakistan have struggled massively in the last two ICC events, India have been a model of consistency in the big tournaments.

The Men in Blue finished runners-up in the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and triumphed in the 2024 T20 World Cup. They also qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023, losing to eventual champions Australia in the final.

"Pakistan cricket still has time. Bring in the right people—those who understand the roots of your country and the underlying problems—then give opportunities to the deserving. Sooner or later, players are made. Dhoni retired, Sachin Tendulkar retired, Yuvraj Singh retired—did the Indian team stop?" said Shehzad (as per the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"Teams don’t stop. Players come and go, but you must have the right intentions. This performance was very poor, and Pakistan will understand this."

With their win over Pakistan, India confirmed their semifinal qualification in the ongoing Champions Trophy. As for Pakistan, with their semifinal hopes done and dusted, they will look to avoid a winless tournament in their final Group A outing against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.